


Baby and the Body

by never_love_a_wild_thing



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Derek Angst, Derek Needs a Hug, Derek is a Softie, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Evil Kate Argent, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Instagram and Blogging, Kid Fic, M/M, Model Derek Hale, Model Lydia, POV Alternating, POV Derek, POV Stiles, Personal Trainer Derek, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski, Slow Burn, Sort Of, exercise is good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-01-26 10:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12555688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_love_a_wild_thing/pseuds/never_love_a_wild_thing
Summary: Stiles recreates models' Instagram photos with his baby. At a fashion show one day, he runs into the model who's pictures he uses most often (and most ironically). Somehow they work through the animosity and find a family.Based on the Instagram @babyandthebody (which I do not own or have anything to do with, but it's super cute and you should take a peak if you like hot guys and/or babies, whether you read this fic or not)





	1. #babyandthebody

**Author's Note:**

> This work is based on an Instagram that I saw but have nothing to do with. I also do not own anything to do with Teen Wolf. I just felt that the two of them needed to be united :)
> 
> The Instagram that this is based on is @babyandthebody if you want to check it out it's probably one of the most adorable things you'll ever see https://www.instagram.com/babyandthebody/
> 
> Also, I've kind of only just started this fic, so more tags and characters and everything will be added as I go.
> 
> Not beta'd, but I welcome feedback!

Stiles liked to blame it on Lydia. Okay, he probably shouldn't say that because she would probably kill him, but really, it was her fault. Either way, it all started one morning when she was over before a photoshoot and Stiles was trying to wrestle Austin into his shirt.

"Hey Stiles -"

"Can you hang on a sec?" He sat back on his heels, taking a tactical retreat for the moment. "I don't understand why it's suddenly so hard to get this kid into clothes," he sighed.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, coming into the room to blow a raspberry on Austin's tummy. He giggled delightedly. "I think I've seen this look on the runway before."

Stiles went back to the Battle of the Red Shirt.

"Actually..." Lydia pulled out her phone and tapped at lighting speed. "Oh my god! Stiles, look!"

He sighed dramatically but did as she said. "Who is that?" he frowned. He looked at his son, standing, very disgruntled, in jeans with his shirt around his neck like a scarf. The Instagram picture on Lydia's phone showed a very disgruntled (but very hot) model in nothing but jeans and a burgundy scarf. " _Oh my god!"_ Stiles dissolved into hysterical laughter as Austin gave up on getting dressed and sat on the floor, sticking his fingers in his mouth.

"I don't know," Lydia giggled, "It was from a Nylon spread last winter. He looks familiar, but...I don't think I know him."

"Wait, wait..." Stiles pulled up the camera on his own phone. "Alright, Aussie-Roo. Daddy's gonna take a picture and then we'll finish getting dressed." He pulled Austin's hand out of his mouth and hoisted him to his feet, bouncing with him a few times before taking the picture.

Lydia held their phones up side by side. "Is that adorable or what?"

Stiles glanced back as he put an arm through a sleeve. "Obviously. Dude's hot, but my baby's cuter." He turned back to pretend to eat the little fingers poking out of the sleeve.

Lydia put the phones away and swept Austin into her arms as soon as he was dressed. "Of course he is! That's because Auntie Lydia buys him all of his clothes, isn't it Austin?"

"La-la-la," Austin agreed happily.

"Hurry up or we're going to be late!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Stiles shook his head and trailed after them.

 

***

 

So, really it was pretty much all Lydia's fault that the pictures, side by side, found their way onto his blog and his Instagram later that night. And it was probably all her followers, too, who added 300 likes to whatever he got on his regular posts. Suddenly he had a side blog about baby fashion (seriously, what?), and was giving advice about being a single dad, neither of which he really felt qualified for.

"Lydia Martin," he said, when he walked in Scott and Kira's front door, "Call off your banshees!" He only minded a lot this time when Austin toddled over to his Uncle Scott's outstretched arms. But if there was anyone he loved nearly as much as Stiles, it was Scott. Or maybe Stiles's dad.

Regardless of how much he loved his son, he trusted Scott (yes, really), and he had a bone to pick with Lydia.

"That's not a saying Stiles," she barely looked up from the bridal magazines she and Kira were pouring over.

Stiles dropped his diaper bag in the hall and pulled out the chair next to her. "It is now, and your people somehow got my Instagram into Cosmo. Uh-huh. And they're all featuring pictures of that one guy!"

Scott bounced Austin happily on his way over. "Which guy?" he asked, "Is this about that baby verses model thing?"

Kira practically squealed. "That is the cutest thing ever!" she glanced at Scott and Stiles, and said very quickly, "besides every single other picture of Austin and also it has nothing to do with that guy who is not cute at all."

Scott laughed and kissed her lightly.

"They put it in Cosmo?" Lydia looked up in mild interest.

"Yes!" Stiles nearly exploded. "And it's all with pictures of that one dude, which is going to seem really creepy if he ever sees it! Oh my god, I bet people are sending him links!" He buried his hand in his hair.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "I really don't see how you think I could make it stop," she flicked to the next page and began to judgmentally examine those centerpieces.

He looked to Scott for help, but he was tickling Austin, and when he looked up, he shrugged and said, "You made the blog, bro. So what if one guy doesn't like it?"

"You're a terrible friend," Stiles said, "And if you're going to play with Austin, at least put him on the floor so he can practice walking." All this was softened by Stiles inevitably joining them on the floor half a second later and smothering his giggling baby with kisses.

"Scott, what do you think of this one?" Kira turned her magazine towards her fiance, finger tapping at a sample of a wedding invitation with sunflowers on it.

Stiles felt the corners of his mouth twitch down before he could stop them as Scott perked up at another mention of his wedding. He hoped desperately that Scott hadn't noticed and busied himself clapping with Austin, but they weren't best friends of over twenty years for nothing.

"I definitely like the rustic thing," Scott said quickly, "Why don't you bookmark it? Hey Stiles, I forgot we got Austin some board books the other day."

Stiles sighed at the obvious excuse to get him away from the girls for a minute, but he helped Austin walk down the hall.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Scott asked, as they sat on the stairs, carefully watching Austin climb.

Stiles sighed and rubbed his hand over his hair. "I got an invitation to Heather's wedding yesterday," he said finally.

"What?!â" Scott whisper-shouted. "She's getting married? To who?"

Stiles shrugged. "I don't know him. It's just weird..."

"I'll say. Co-parenting a child is too much commitment but not getting married?"

"Scott-"

"Yeah, it's different, I know."

They moved up another few steps and Stiles ran a hand over Austin's back.

"Are you okay with it?" Scott asked. "I mean, I know it's weird, but you got over her a while ago."

"I know," Stiles nodded. "It's not that it's just...everybody's so happy and I'm-"

"You have Austin. And you have us-"

"You know it's not the same. Just. I'm twenty-five and frustrated, okay?"

Scott nodded. "Okay...if you need a break from best-manhood for a while I get it. I'll even babysit so you can-"

Stiles shoved him, sending him back down a step. "Just keep some nights open for bro time," he grinned, taking Austin's hands and swinging him up the last few steps. "Wow Aussie-Roo! That was a big giant step! Are we on the moon?"

Austin giggled and shouted "Moo!"

Stiles obliged (he was an amazing Dad that way), and carried Austin a few feet before setting him down and then repeating again and again until they reached the guest room at the end of the hall, saying "boing!" with each imaginary lunar step, Scott laughing behind them.


	2. #neardeathexperience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles sees the model he's been using for his blog. It's still Lydia's fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for all of the inaccuracies and things that don't make sense in this chapter, and pretty much all the other chapters, I guess. I don't really know much about the fashion industry. In my head Stiles and Danny work for a modeling agency (I don't really know what those people do), and Mason is an intern for the same company. That said, if anyone has any wisdom/feedback to share on that (or any) topic, it is definitely welcome.
> 
> I am also thinking I might have some Derek POV after all. I considered it for this chapter, but he wasn't cooperating, so we're stuck with just Stiles for a little longer :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Stiles was running on very little sleep when he walked into the run through for the Calvin Klein fashion show. Austin was getting a new tooth in and it was unclear whether he needed one nap or two, resulting in a tired, cranky baby and a tired, cranky Stiles. It was also a pain in the ass, because there was too much happening for Austin to walk on his own, not enough room for a stroller, and none of his usual babysitters were available today, so he was carrying a squirmy one year old on his chest, drinking lukewarm coffee so that he wouldn’t accidentally burn him, and trying to do a million things at once.

“Mr. Stilinski!” Stiles looked over his shoulder to see Mason working his way towards him. “Sorry – Stiles.” Mason corrected himself.

“What’s up?” Stiles asked distractedly, tapping notes into his phone.

“Mr – Danny sent me over to help you out today. He said you were swamped.”

“You mean Lydia told him I was stressed out,” Stiles interpreted.

“Yeah,” Mason replied candidly. “So, what can I do?”

Stiles wasn’t used to having interns to help him out on a regular day, nonetheless have one exclusively to help him. Especially one as good as Mason. “Um…okay, I’ve got three models in the show, plus five more from our agency. We need to take notes on the show, make sure everything’s going as smoothly as possible–“ He cut himself off, staring across the room.

“Stiles?” Mason asked curiously.

“Oh my god! That’s him! That’s the guy!”

“What guy?” Mason squinted in the direction that Stiles was flailing.

“That model that I have on my blog! I have to – uhg, Aus, not now.” Austin was wriggling in his pack starting to make unhappy noises. Stiles bounced a little, running a hand over his back, trying to sooth him.

“Do you want me to take him for a bit?” Mason offered, “I can grab a toy or a snack from his bag?”

Stiles sighed and reluctantly gave his baby over. Mason always had a ridiculously calming influence on Austin for some reason. “Thanks,” he said, “His bag is by Lydia’s stuff. You might be able to pawn him off on her for a little bit if you need to. While you’re in there, can you check that all of our models are here and see if they need anything?”

Mason nodded and headed off. Stiles stretched his back and threw away his coffee cup. He tried to glance subtly at the model, the one Cosmo had used pictures of in their story, but the subtlety was wasted. When Stiles finally found him, he was glaring right back.

***

Stiles had never been so grateful to be reminded of his job in his life. An announcement that the run through would be starting in five minutes brought him back to reality and sent the model towards hair and makeup. He breathed a sigh of relief and went the opposite way to find the assistant designer.

By the time he got back to where Lydia and Mason were entertaining Austin (Lydia from a distance in her Calvin Klein dress, and Mason sitting on the floor next to him), the run through was just getting under way and Stiles had yet to see the grumpy model dude again.

“How’s it going?” he asked Mason. “Is everything ready?”

Mason put away everything except for the teething ring and got to his feet with Austin in his arms. “Yeah,” he said, “I think we’re set back here. Do we go watch the show now?”

Stiles nodded, taking Austin back. “And Lydia, we’re getting lunch after this because we need to have a talk about you warning me about grumpy models being in the same show as you.”

“How was I supposed to know, Stiles? It’s not like I’m psychic,” She protested.

“You’re Lydia Martin. You know everything. Alright, Mason, let’s get out front.”

***

The run through seemed to be made up of an absurd number of stops and starts and imperfections that needed to be ironed out. You would think that it was simple and shouldn’t take too long to figure out, but it almost always happened this way. Stiles and Mason took notes on their tablets, and Austin chewed very intently on his teething ring. By the time they were finished, it was too late for lunch, so Stiles invited Mason to join them for dinner.

“Oh!” he looked surprised, “Are you sure? I thought you had to talk to Lydia.”

“Nah, it’s not that important. Hey, maybe we could invite somebody else? What about Brett?”

“Lydia would kill you if she thought it was a double date,” he said hesitantly as Stiles passed him a sleeping Austin.

“Hey, your baby’s adorable,” Stiles heard someone say to Mason as he started to gather all of Austin’s things into his diaper bag. He glanced over his shoulder to see Corey, one of his agency’s newest models smiling shyly at Mason.

“Oh! He’s not – uh, he’s not mine. I’m just holding him.”

Stiles stood and grinned at them. “And he’s going to keep doing that if it gets Austin to sleep that easily. It’s Corey, right?”

He smiled. “Yeah. You must be Stiles. Danny’s always complaining about you.”

“Sounds about right,” Stiles shouldered the bag, “This is Mason, by the way. Mason, this is Corey.” They smiled shyly and said hi to each other. Stiles tried not to roll his eyes. “Hey, listen, we were about to go out to dinner with some of the other models. Why don’t you come along?”

“Oh! That would be – I was going to-“

“It would be fun,” Mason added.

“Okay, yeah,” Corey nodded, “I’ll just tell my friends…”

“Dude, just invite them along. The more the merrier, right?”

“Wow. Okay,” Corey grinned at Mason, “Okay, I’ll meet you guys there?”

“Yep. We’ll be at El Lobo in like an hour,” Stiles nodded.

“You are a way better wing man than Liam,” Mason breathed.

Stiles winked.

***

Mason wasn’t paying much attention to Stiles and Lydia’s conversation, eyes flickering to the door of the restaurant every two seconds. Stiles and Lydia, as usual, were bickering.

“Stiles, it _doesn’t matter_ -“

“He was _glaring_ at me, Lydia. _Glaring_!”

“Maybe he took exception to your outfit,” she tried.

“He didn’t – what’s wrong with my outfit?”

“You can’t wear a t-shirt to a fashion show,” Mason finally put in.

“What? This is a nice t-shirt though!” Stiles protested. “You’re wearing a t-shirt!”

“It has a coffee stain on it Stiles,” Lydia said in dismay, “Mason’s shirt has buttons and a collar.”

“Well, anyways, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my outfit,” Stiles insisted, “He saw me with Austin and he knows that I’m the one who runs the blog and he _hates_ me.”

“He doesn’t know you,” Mason said, “Why would he hate you?”

The bell over the door jingled and Mason’s head whipped around. Corey smiled and headed toward their table, followed by two other guys, one of whom was tall, dark, and incredibly grumpy looking.

“Oh shit,” Stiles muttered.


	3. #donttryme #illkickyourkid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV. Derek and Stiles have a conversation...sort of...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No children were harmed in the making of this chapter! For those of you who read the chapter titles (I only do like half the time...oops...) I get them from both the @babyandthebody Instagram and the Instagram of the model, @aristotlepolites who has very amusing captions for his pictures :) I'm definitely not saying that Derek would kick a baby but that's the general sentiment in this chapter so...  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos and everything! You are all so lovely and I'm so happy people are having fun reading this - I'm definitely having fun writing it!

Derek knew that going to dinner with Corey’s new friends would be a mistake, but Parrish was convinced, for some reason, that Derek was going to be Corey’s modeling mentor. Derek had only known Corey vaguely from the gym, but Parrish liked to make things happen, so here he was. It was bad enough that they had chosen Mexican – Derek was very picky about what he ate before a modeling gig – but the group that Corey was making a beeline towards genuinely made him want to turn back.

Lydia Martin was fine. He had never talked to her, but she hooked up with Aiden sometimes and had a reputation for being a flawless model who never put up with anyone’s shit. The other two adults, Derek didn’t recognize besides being connected to the baby sleeping in the stroller between Lydia and the guy he’d made awkward eye-contact with earlier. The baby, on the other hand, he was sure was the one on that god-forsaken blog. He had kind of assumed that the owner of the blog would be someone sitting at home with a distain for fashion and nothing better to do. This guy, though - presumably in the industry, surrounded by it every day just so he could go home and mock it? It reminded Derek too much of people like Jennifer and Kate. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Mason!” Corey was saying, “Thanks for inviting us! Um, this is Jordan Parrish. He owns the gym I work at. Everyone just calls him Parrish, though. And this is Derek. He’s also a model. And he’s a lifestyle coach.”

Mason waved and introduced Lydia and her agent, Stiles Stilinski.

“Stiles Stilinski?” Parrish asked with a grin.

“Stiles is a nickname,” the guy shrugged, “You don’t want to know my real name. Nobody can pronounce it.”

Lydia made a noise of disapproval.

“I stand corrected,” he continued, with a wry smile at Lydia, “two people can pronounce it: Lydia and my dad. This little bundle of adorableness is Austin, by the way,” he gestured to the baby who was sleepily chewing on his teething ring, “Feel free to ooh and ahh.”

Derek frowned at the explicit demand for attention as he, Corey, and Parrish sat down. The other two made a fuss over the baby for a few minutes until the waiter came over to take drink orders. He resisted the urge to flare his nostrils and roll his eyes, but decided that he would take the first opportunity he had to get out of there. He liked Corey, but not this much.

“Derek,” Lydia said in an almost falsely sweet voice, “I can’t believe we’ve never worked together before. I feel like I see you all over the place.”

Derek found himself scowling and said shortly, “I was working in New York for a while.”

Lydia nodded like she found what he was saying _super interesting_. His scowl deepened and the guy called Stiles elbowed her in her side in what he probably thought was a subtle way. She glared at him but turned her focus on to Parrish, her smile falling to a more genuine one. “And why aren’t _you_ a model?” she asked.

Derek and Corey snorted and Parrish turned a little pink.

“His gym is his heart and soul,” Corey explained, “He would never take time away from that.” He glanced at Mason.

“I’m glad you did,” Mason said, and then seemed to catch himself, “Um, cause otherwise we wouldn’t all be hanging out now, you know?” He hastily took a sip of his water.

Corey smiled brightly and Derek and Parrish exchanged eyerolls.

***

Conversation stayed mostly general through appetizers, after which Derek attempted to escape. Parrish refused to let him, glancing meaningfully at his supposed protégé, so he stayed and ordered fajitas. Waiting for his food to arrive, he realized that conversation had already devolved into pairs: Corey and Mason on one side, and Lydia and Parrish on the other. Stiles was entertaining his baby quietly, but looked up in time to catch Derek staring at him, probably like a deer in the headlights.

“Austin’s teething,” he explained, “It’s kind of exhausting.”

Derek glared.

“Okay, what’s your deal?” Stiles snapped, “Look, if I knew Cosmo was only going to post pictures of you I wouldn’t have – “

“Save it,” Derek snapped. There was no way he was putting up with this right now. People hardly ever meant what they said anyways.

Stiles seemed to struggle with the silence for a minute before saying, “Seriously, though. They didn’t have to single you out like that. I get it –“

“No, you don’t. You don’t get anything. You’re just-“ he noticed the others watching them uncomfortably. “Forget it.” He was about to say that he was leaving, but the food arrived and was hurriedly placed in front of him, and before he could ask them to pack it up, Parrish was strong-arming him into a conversation about balancing diet and exercise with Lydia, and Stiles was falling into discussion with Mason and Corey. He contributed little to the conversation, mostly watching Parrish stare at Lydia like she was the first woman he had ever seen, but it was a much more comfortable topic for him, and he almost forgot several times that he was pissed off. He was definitely calling Cora when he got home.

***

“He is just always trying to be the center of attention, Cor, like he literally told us to ooh and ahh over his baby,” he complained, falling back onto his plush comforter.

“Yeah, people tend to do that with babies, Der,” she told him, void of sympathy.

“Okay, but he literally puts pictures of the babies and the models on the internet and tells people to vote which is the cutest. Obviously the baby is going to win.” He pulled the throw at the end of the bed around him, feeling the soft faux shearling wool bundle around him.

“Are you jealous?”

“No! You know I’m not! I just – uhg, he has no respect for the world of fashion, and he works in it! It’s just like –“

“Derek, before you say it’s like Kate or Jennifer, have you considered that maybe you don’t actually know the whole story? Not everyone’s terrible, you know.”

He huffed. “It’s better safe than sorry. I thought I could trust them and they used me for fame and attention. How am I supposed to trust anyone?” he felt frustration bubbling up in his chest, mixed with sadness and guilt.

“Do you trust me?” Cora asked.

“Of course,” he sighed.

“Then trust that I won’t let anything like that happen to you again. For now, reserve judgement on this Stiles guy and let me vent about my stupid-ass boyfriend.”

“Okay,” he relented, comforted in the fierce protectiveness that was inherent in siblings, “What did the asshole do this time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will get all of Derek's backstory eventually, I just don't want it to be contrived, so hang in there!  
> Also, I really feel like Derek secretly likes soft things...but that could have to do with the fact that I just found out that Ugg has a line of blankets and pillows and stuff, which just seems ridiculously amazing!


	4. #truefriendsarerare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott has a new personal trainer I wonder who it could be...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm planning on posting a new chapter twice a week, probably like Monday and Friday, but I've been away the past two weekends, so I haven't had a whole ton of time to write. Hopefully now I'll be able to actually keep the chapters coming more regularly. (That said, I have no idea where this fic is going or where it will end, so good luck). Thanks for being so patient this week! I hope this chapter is worth it!

Stiles managed to avoid Derek the next day at the fashion show. Luckily he was running around like a chicken with its head cut off the entire day, so it wasn’t all that hard. He had tried to be nice at dinner, but he guessed some people just…didn’t like other people? He was going to leave it at that. He was. No matter how badly he wanted to know _why_. Shoulda been a cop. That’s what his dad always said. Jokingly, of course.

“Anyways,” Scott was saying, “I switched gyms. My new trainer is totally kicking my ass.”

“Why do you need your ass kicked?” Stiles asked.

“I want to look good for the wedding, you know?”

“You have a six-pack,” Stiles reminded him.

“It’s about _feeling_ good, though,” Scott explained, “That’s what my new trainer says.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “It’s pretty awesome, dude, you should come with me.”

“When is the last time I went to the gym, Scotty?” Stiles asked dryly, gesturing at Austin, who was on the floor, playing with his dad.

“I think that’s the point, Stiles,” his dad said. “And don’t use Austin as an excuse, you know I’m always happy to babysit him. And so is Melissa.”

“And Kira, if she’s not at work,” Scott added, “Come on, dude, please?”

“Uhg, fine,” Stiles flopped back on the couch, “But only so you’ll quit bugging me about it.”

Scott’s face lit up in a huge grin. “Awesome! We’ll leave in like an hour.”

“An – Scott! I didn’t say I’d go today!”

“No time like the present, kid,” his dad smiled.

“I hate you both,” Stiles told them, scooping up Austin, “Just so you know that. Come on Auggie, I think it’s time for some food. Can you say _food_? _Food_?”

 

***

 

Derek was happy to be working instead of sitting at home waiting for a good time to call Cora again. She didn’t seem so happy in South America anymore, and he was hoping he could convince her to move back to California. She was the only family he had left. Except Peter, but being around Peter, even Derek could recognize, was bad for his mental health.

One of his newer clients was scheduled for the late afternoon. He had told Derek that he was only planning on doing personal training for a couple of months in preparation for his wedding, but he was one of the few clients that he got that he was hoping would stay indefinitely. He was already pretty fit, but determined as hell and boundlessly energetic.  About an hour before he was due to come in, Derek got a message asking if he could bring a friend to try out a session at the gym. Parrish allowed this once per person as a loose rule, but Derek usually declined. Working with one person was hard enough. Trying to tailor a workout to two different people (not to mention, interact positively with both of them, particularly when he didn’t know one) wasn’t any easier. But for Scott, he would make an exception. People like Scott usually surrounded themselves with similar people, right?

“Hey, Derek! Scott and his friend are just coming in now,” Braeden told him as she passed, on her way to the staff room.

“Thanks!” Derek called over his shoulder, putting the last weight away and starting towards the lobby.

“I’m just saying, man, don’t expect me to be able to keep up. I haven’t even been for a run for like a week and a half.” The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it until he nearly walked into it, putting his hands out to steady broad shoulders on reflex.

Stiles Stilinski was gaping at him from next to Scott McCall. Derek dropped his hands quickly and stepped back. He wanted to straight up deny Stiles a training session, but that was ridiculously unprofessional, so he crossed his arms over his chest instead, and waited for Scott to figure it out.

“Dude!” Stiles hissed when he finally recovered, “Why didn’t you tell me your trainer is _Derek Hale_?”

“You know Derek – oh my god, he’s the model from your Instagram!” Scott stared at him.

Derek frowned.

“ _Yes,_ Scotty, he’s the – oh my god. This is terribly, horrendously awful…I’m just gonna go.”

Derek sighed, and said, before he could think too hard about it, “If Scott wants you to stay you’re welcome to stay.” Wow. Cora would be proud.

Stiles was left speechless again, but Scott grinned like a delighted puppy and nudged Stiles. “Come on, dude, this is gonna be awesome!”

 

***

 

Somehow, Stiles survived an hour of torturous exercise led by Derek Hale without being killed on purpose. He was now incredibly tired, sore, and confused. Derek had been totally professional, and if not nice, exactly, not nearly as closed down and standoffish as the other night.

“So what do you think,” Parrish stopped them on the way out. “You want to give it another try?”

Derek stood by talking easily with Scott, or, more likely, listening as Scott talked about center pieces and color schemes.

“Uh, I don’t know, man. I’d have to be able to get a babysitter regularly, and my dad’s still working part time…”

“Stiles, you _have_ a support system,” Scott jumped into the conversation just like he always did, “Austin’s never going to be alone, okay? He’ll give it a try, Parrish.”

“I’ll think about it,” Stiles compromised, glancing at Derek, “I can just come and do some stuff on my own…”

“I’ll train you,” Derek said suddenly, face void of expression, “We can work around your schedule as much as you need.”

“Woah, seriously?”

“ _Yes_ , Stiles.” The grumpy eyebrows didn’t go away. Scott was beaming and Parrish looked incredibly amused.

“Uh, okay…I’ll think about it…” Derek just nodded, said goodbye to Scott, and turned around and walked away.

Stiles stared after him and then looked at Parrish. “Did you make him do that?” he asked.

Parrish shrugged. “I don’t think anyone _makes_ Derek Hale do anything. He is picky about his clients though…”

“I thought he hated me.”

“His sister probably talked him down from a ledge. He’s had issues with publicity in the past, so he doesn’t exactly trust people.”

Stiles thought about that for a minute. “Okay, what do you want? Lydia’s phone number?”

Scott started to protest, by Parrish waved it off. “I want you to join my gym and bring every single person you know. And I already have Lydia’s number.” He smiled easily.

“You _what_?” Stiles gaped at him.

“Okay, bro, let’s go.” Scott steered him towards the door. “See you later, Parrish! He’ll be back!”

“You know,” Stiles told him as they left the building, “You are really a terrible friend.”

“And by terrible you mean the best, right?” Scott grinned.

Stiles sighed heavily, but matched his smile and gave him a high-five. “Yeah. Totally the best.”


	5. #cupofjoeandagoodbook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles learns some things about Derek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of Derek's backstory! I wrote this whole chapter pretty much immediately right after I posted the last one, which was amazing, but now I'm kind of stuck, so I really hope I'll have something to post by Friday... Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who's celebrating it this week! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Stiles’s curiosity is insatiable. He tried not to give into it, he really did. He even lasted almost hour after Austin went to sleep before breaking out his laptop and starting up the internet. Stiles really would have been asleep too, but his brain was so wound up in the what-if’s of Derek Hale’s life that it was physically impossible for him to leave it alone. At some point, Stiles had no idea how long he had been sifting through the internet, his phone vibrated across the room and he dove off of his bed, nearly braining himself on the dresser to retrieve it. He was honestly amazed that Austin had been sleeping soundly since he had put him down, and there was absolutely nothing that he would do to risk waking him up.

“Hey, Lydia,” he said softly, settling back onto his bed again with his laptop on his knees, “What’s up?”

“Why did Parrish tell me you were at his gym training with _Derek Hale_?” she demanded instantly.

“Why are you talking to Parrish?” he countered.

“I can talk to whoever I want to,” she said loftily, “Don’t ignore the question.”

“I’m not. Derek is Scott’s new personal trainer,” Stiles explained, “Scott wanted me to go to the gym with him. End of story. Have you gone on a date yet?”

“Not _end of story_. We’re not dating, just talking. He said Derek wants to keep training you.”

“Mmhmm…” Stiles continued scrolling through tabloid headlines, used to Lydia’s intense interrogations.

“Stiles, _why_ -“

“Oh shit!” He clicked on a link to an actual news article: _Hale Empire Goes Up in Flames_. He skimmed through and then went back to the top and read through again.

“Stiles?” Lydia asked, sounding concerned.

“Did you know about Hale Fashions?”

“Yeah, they were one of the biggest fashion companies in the United States. Were you like, living under a rock for the entire first half of your life?”

“Okay, excuse me for not knowing what fashion was before I met you. Seriously, this article is talking about some massive fire that killed the whole family. No wonder Derek has issues.”

“Not the whole family,” Lydia reminded him, “Derek and his sister Cora were out when it happened, and his uncle Peter escaped.”

“It still doesn’t make sense,” he muttered.

“What doesn’t?” she sighed.

“I mean I get that you might be a little messed up if your whole family died in a fire, but Parrish said that Derek doesn’t trust _anyone_ , and that’s-“

“Sweetie,” Lydia said sternly, “Don’t obsess over this. It’s not healthy.”

“I just need to know-“

“You _need_ to go to sleep. Let’s get coffee tomorrow and I’ll tell you everything I know about it okay?”

Stiles scrubbed a hand over his face and closed his computer. “Okay, fine.”

“Good. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay, love you.”

“Love you too.”

 

***

 

“I _told_ you it wasn’t healthy to obsess,” Lydia chastised.

“Besides the fact that it’s kind of creepy, dude,” Scott added.

“Yeah, yeah. I just…it’s _really_ bugging me. I feel like I did something horribly wrong, but I have no idea what it is.” He looked at Scott. “You have to admit he’s been acting really hot and cold.”

Scott shrugged, trying to look innocent. Which he managed. As always.

“Okay, look, don’t take this and run with it – Stiles, I’m serious.” Lydia looked around the coffee shop and then lowered her voice, “There are rumors going around that Derek’s ex set the fire, but nobody can prove it.”

Stiles glanced between his friends. “That would give anyone issues.”

She nodded. “And then there’s Jennifer Blake.”

“Who’s Jennifer Blake?” Scott asked, bouncing Austin on his knee.

“Another one of Derek’s ex’s,” Lydia sighed, “You’ve heard of her, Stiles, Jennifer Blake’s her pen name. Her real name’s Julia Baccari.”

Stiles nodded. “Sounds familiar. What did she do?”

“Well, there was a huge scandal about a year ago when they split. The details were fuzzy, but Parrish said something that made it seem like people have used Derek to get ahead in the industry, so I’d guess it had something to do with that. She has a bit of a reputation for using relationships to get ahead, anyways.” She sipped her coffee delicately and Stiles gaped at her.

“Lydia, my blog has like a million followers,” he said, “How does that not look like I’m trying to get ahead.”

She shrugged, and he looked at Scott instead, who looked suitably uncomfortable. “Maybe you should try talking to Derek about it,” he suggested.

“Are you kidding?” Stiles said, “Do you _want_ me to die a premature death?”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “ _Anyways_ ,” she continued, “Heather’s wedding is in a month. Maybe you should figure out what you’re going to do about that.”

“I’m going,” Stiles said, immediately, “I have to.”

“I know,” she said gently, “But what about your plus one?”

He looked at Scott questioningly and then back to Lydia. “You?” he said, hesitantly.

“Good answer,” she hummed into her coffee.

 

***

 

Derek was furious. Cora was sobbing on skype and she was thousands of miles away. “Cora, I’m not just telling you this as your brother who misses you and wants you to come home, but you need to break up with him and move back here _now_.”

She tried to protest, but Derek didn’t really understand any of it.

“Okay,” he took a deep breath, “How about this: I’m your big brother and I love you and miss you and I need you to move back to California for my sanity.”

“When you put it that way,” she hiccupped and gave the camera a watery smile, “You know, I really have been missing Beacon Hills…”

“I know Parrish would love to have you come work in his gym…and you could take over training that guy that I was complaining about last week. The Instagram guy. Then I don’t have to do it.”

She gasped and he saw a genuine smile light up her face. “Okay, that’s it, I’m moving back. This I _have_ to see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you like the length of these chapters - they feel very short, and there will probably end up being a lot of them, but I always find fics with shorter chapters easier to read on mobile. This is one of my first fics on here, though, so let me know if you like one way or the other better :)


	6. #notsurehowifeelaboutit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles meets Cora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Cora has become kind of ooc in this fic, so sorry about that... I'm working back towards the actual plot again, so hang in there!

“You know I wouldn’t be asking if I could get anybody else to do it.”

“Thanks, Malia,” Stiles said dryly.

“You know what I mean.”

“Sure, when does she get in?”

“Around 4:30.”

“Today?!”

“ _Yes_ , Stiles, today!”

“Malia, I have work!”

“You can get off early today. Ask Danny to cover for you.”

“I can’t just – “

“I can impale your foot with my stiletto when you walk me down the aisle at Kira and Scott’s wedding,” she offered easily.

Stiles scowled. “ _Fine_ ,” he said, “I’ll pick her up.”

As usual, Malia hung up without another word. Stiles knew he’d probably get a ‘thank you’ text in an hour or two, when she remembered. Malia was mostly good at social interaction now, except around people she was close with, but she liked to blame everything on her “fucked up parents”, which was a can of worms that Stiles was equal parts curious and terrified to open.

“Danny, I’m gonna head out in a bit,” he called.

“Sure, Stiles.”

He swiveled his chair to face Danny. “Really?”

“Yes, I already got a heads up about it,” Danny rolled his eyes.

“What? From who?"

“Don’t worry about it.”

Stiles frowned, but started logging out of everything. “You know I’m going to figure it out, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hey, is Lydia still seeing Aiden?”

“Wouldn’t _you_ know that?”

“I don’t know. She’s been talking to this guy Parrish, and I was just wondering.”

“I’ll ask Ethan.”

“Thanks, man.”

“See you.”

 

***

 

His dad and Melissa were watching Austin while he worked and drove to and from the airport. Stiles had gotten to know Malia pretty well over the past few years, but he never knew that she had a cousin who lived in…Brazil? He stared up at the arrivals board. Fifteen more minutes. He liked to think that he would do anything for his friends, but airport duty for a girl he didn’t even know? Not exactly what he wanted to be doing with his time. He stood awkwardly amongst a small group of other people waiting at arrivals, with a cardboard sign in hand that read “Cora”. That was it. Malia _would_ leave him with nothing but a minimalist sign.

A little while later, people started to trickle out of the doors, beyond which he could see the baggage claim. He watched with mild interest, trying to guess who belonged to who out of the people that he had been waiting with. The man in the wrinkled suit obviously belonged to the family holding the big, sparkly sign that said “DADDY!!!”, and the old lady with the big smile was waiting for the grandpa with the vintage suitcase. A young woman with dark hair stepped through the doors, pulling a massive suitcase behind her, dressed comfortably, yet very fashionably, and wearing a massive pair of sunglasses. He looked around at the crowd remaining. The guy with the Rolex, probably. Although it would be pretty funny if it was that other old couple who were dressed identically and in very poor taste…

“Stiles?”

He blinked. The woman was talking to him. “You’re Cora?” he asked in disbelief. He could practically hear her eyes rolling.

“I’m Cora,” she affirmed. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, sorry Malia couldn’t pick you up, she’s working a long shift today. Can I help with your bags?”

“I’ve got it,” she smiled lightly, “Lead the way.”

They left the airport and headed towards temporary parking. “My brother was supposed to pick me up in the first place, but apparently the middle of the day in the middle of the week is a bad time to try to get picked up from the airport.”

Stiles laughed. “Tell me about it. I’m supposed to be at work, but I guess Malia somehow pulled some strings with Danny or something to get me out early.”

“I appreciate it,” she said.

“No problem,” he replied, finding that he somehow didn’t mind so much anymore. “So why Brazil?”

“I used to live there,” she said somewhat stiffly. Stiles nodded and gave in to the silence. “I’m just moving back to Beacon Hills now, actually.” She continued with a sigh.

“Oh! That’s…good?” he glanced sideways at her as they approached his car. “Can I ask why?”

She shrugged. “I just got out of a bad relationship. My brother talked me into moving home.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s glad to have you, as much as that sucks,” Stiles said, “And I know Malia’s excited to have you back too…And you don’t know me very well yet, but I’ve been told I have a very sympathetic ear, so if you ever want to talk…”

She smiled. “Thanks, Stiles.”

 

***

 

“So she gave you her number?” Scott asked eagerly.

“Yeah, I mean…am I supposed to talk to Malia first?”

“Malia?” Scott asked, raising his eyebrows.

“You’re right,” Stiles nodded, “She won’t care.”

“So are you gonna see her?”

“Yeah, I mean, even if it’s just as friends it would still be cool, right?”

“Totally!” Scott grinned lightheartedly. “But either way you have to tell me _everything_ , okay?”

“Duh.”

 

***

 

Cora had been living with Derek for a few days, apartment hunting, hanging out, and picking up hours at the gym. Parrish had been more than happy to have her.

“I’m going out with a friend in a few,” Cora told him, after checking her phone for like the millionth time that day.

“You have friends?” Derek teased.

“Har-har,” Cora rolled her eyes, “He’s one of Malia’s friends. He picked me up from the airport.”

“Malia has friends?” he got a hard elbow to the gut for that. “Alright, alright…So is he like a friend or a _friend_?”

She glared at him. “Grow up.” The doorbell rang, and she leapt to her feet.

“As long as you’re happy,” he followed her towards the door to grab a drink from the kitchen.

The door swung open, and he heard Cora say brightly, “Hi Stiles!”

Derek swung around, the door of the refrigerator falling shut behind him.

“Hey,” Stiles stepped into the apartment, looking around while Cora put her shoes on. “Nice – hi, Derek. Uh…do you guys live together?”

“You know Derek?” Cora asked, glancing at her brother. Derek felt himself glowering.

“I train Stiles at the gym,” he said blandly, “In exchange, he posts pictures of his baby dressed like me on the internet.”

Stiles winced visibly and Cora raised her eyebrows.

“But anyways, have fun on your date.”

“It’s not a date,” Cora said, squinting at him, which she always did when she thought he was lying or not telling her something. “Whatever, let’s go, Stiles. See you later, Der.”

Stiles waved awkwardly and followed her out the door.

Derek returned to the sofa, drink forgotten. Why did Cora always manage to be friends with people that he didn’t like – no, _date_ people he didn’t even get along with… _It’s not like you have the greatest track record_ , a voice in his head told him. He scowled, exhaling heavily through his nose, and turned on the TV on. Cora wanted him to trust her about Stiles? Fine, but he didn’t have to be happy about it.


	7. #imitationisthehighestformofflattery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia's background happens. Also Stiles's. Derek is overwhelmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this chapter is accidentally twice as long as the others...oops? I wanted to write a chapter from Derek's POV, but I got carried away. By the way, I'm not saying that fashion is a terrible industry where bad things happen, just that sometimes life sucks, but Stiles will always be awesome :)
> 
> Thanks for all of the sweet comments and stuff, guys! I'm glad you're having as much fun reading this as I am writing it!

“What do you mean you can’t give her Stiles?” Derek growled, spreading his hands on the table in the staff room.

Parrish shrugged, unconcerned. “She said she wouldn’t do it. Sorry, man. It’s up to her. Maybe if you got to know him it would be better…I guess I could always ask Brett?”

Derek had a sudden mental image of Brett flirting with Stiles while they trained, and shook his head. “No.”

“No?”

“I’ll train him, okay? Just – I thought I’d ask. Whatever. I’m going home.” He swung his bag onto his shoulder and was out the door before Parrish could say anything else.

By the time he was halfway home, his brain had caught up with him. Why _couldn’t_ Brett train Stiles? There was no good reason, except that it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel right that he was dating Cora, either, but that probably had something to do with her being his baby sister who had just gotten out of a shitty relationship. Either way, he decided, he somehow had far too many opinions on the topic of Stiles.

His phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number when he pulled it out of his pocket, but he answered anyways, noting the Beacon Hills area code.

“Derek, hi. This is Lydia Martin.”

“Lydia?” he stopped walking, nearly clotheslining the jogger coming up behind him.

“Yes,” she sounded very exasperated. “ We need to talk. Can you meet me at _Café Marie Jeanne_?”

“I don’t think so,” he suddenly had a cold feeling of dread. Why would Lydia call him and ask to meet? It had to be a set up…

“Listen,” her voice was suddenly very soft, “You’re not the only one who’s had some traumatizing experiences in this career. I know you don’t trust me, but I’m just asking you to meet me for coffee so we can talk. Not even about fashion or jobs or anything. Just people?”

It sounded so utterly sincere, that Derek found himself agreeing, feet already moving in the direction of the café.

After ordering a matcha tea, he scanned the room, and found Lydia Martin sitting in a corner alone except for the stroller next to her and the baby bouncing in her lap. He grabbed his order and walked over hesitantly.

“Why do you have Stiles’s baby?” he asked almost immediately.

“I’m babysitting so Stiles can hang out with your sister. Sit.” Derek obeyed. Lydia was short for a model. In the café, she wore an oversized cardigan and her strawberry blonde hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Holding the baby, she looked casual and completely nonthreatening. “His name is Austin, which you know, and I don’t want you judging Stiles for being a bad father, because he wants to be with Austin nearly all the time, but we’re finally wearing him down to let us babysit so he can have a social life.”

“Okay,” he said, wondering where this was going.

She narrowed her eyes, observing him critically. “I made Stiles start the blog.”

“What?” He stared at the baby, who’s fist was in its mouth. Lydia patiently pulled the tiny hand out and wiped it clean on her cardigan.

“That’s why you don’t like him, right?” she continued easily, “Because you think he’s trying to use you and other models to make himself famous.”

“He forced everyone to tell him how adorable this thing was the first time I met him,” he gestured at the baby, “What’s your angle, anyways? Why do you think I need to know why he started that blog?”

“Sweetie, every parent is obsessed with their baby, and Stiles is a very vocal person. Of course he’s going to insist everyone tells him how cute Aussie is,” she cooed the last part to the baby and kissed him on the head. He was still staring at Derek like he had never seen anything like him before. Even he had to admit it was kind of cute. “And anyways, I don’t have an angle besides not wanting anyone to see Stiles as the bad guy…or to watch other models suffer through abuse.” Her gaze dropped away from Derek. “Nobody should have to.”

He was speechless, but nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t want Stiles to post that picture so he could be famous,” she said, tapping at her phone, “I wanted him to post it because I thought that it was pretty adorable that his baby just happened to be dressed like you. If that made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”

She turned her phone to show him a picture that he had seen many times before. On the left was a shot from one of his photo shoots. He was wearing jeans and a red scarf, smoldering at the camera. On the right was the baby that Lydia held in her lap. He was wearing jeans with an elastic waist, and a red plaid shirt that was bunched up around his neck to look like Derek’s scarf. He had seen the Instagram caption before, but never the full story from the blog. Lydia handed the phone to him, and turned her attention to the baby.

 

_For all you fashion-lovers out there, here is Aussie dressed up like his heroes. One of my clients/friends was the one who noticed the resemblance when she was getting in the way after bath time, but it was too cool not to post. These people don’t get enough credit for their work. Thanks to all of the lovely people I work with for being you and choosing me. With great power comes great responsibility. Not sure who said that ;) But just so you all know, this is how much I treasure all of the models I work with – enough to put them side by side with the most important thing in my life, my Aussie-Roo. That being said, not entirely sure who this guy is, but he is working it ;)_

_Imitation is the highest form of flattery – comment below who wore it better! #mancrushmonday #aussieroo #babyandthebody_

 

He handed the phone back to Lydia after the screen grew dark. “What did his blog used to be about?” he asked.

“Helping models,” she shrugged, “From an agent’s point of view. A lot of people in this industry can be pretty terrible, which you know, but Stiles wanted there to be a place where models can go when they don’t know what to do or who to go to. Danny and I help him with it sometimes. He’s pretty new to the whole fashion thing, but he learns fast…” her eyes searched his face for a minute, before she seemed to find what she was looking for. “Can I tell you what happened to me?”

Derek looked taken aback. “You want to?” he asked.

“I think it would be good. I want you to know that Stiles isn’t a bad person, but I understand where you’re coming from. It can be hard to trust people.”

“I don’t even know him that well,” Derek said.

Lydia rolled her eyes. “At the rate he and Cora are going, you will.”

“Okay,” he found himself saying.

She nodded, grimly. “I knew Stiles in college. He and Scott and I have all been friends since freshman year, although Scott and Stiles were practically born attached at the hip. I started modelling in high school, right before my parents got divorced, which was messy and attention-consuming. Anyways, I went to college and met Stiles, who was majoring in criminology at the time. He really has a knack for it, but his heart is too big, and he noticed me suffering when nobody else did…My parents weren’t paying much attention to me and I had a boyfriend, but he was a little self-absorbed. My agent was making bad call after bad call, not giving me all of the money I earned, and I know I don’t have to tell you how sketchy some of those photo-shoots can be. But I just wanted to get through it.

“I was sitting in my car one night when I got back to campus, bawling my eyes out, when he came and knocked on my window. He asked me what was wrong and I somehow ended up telling him everything. He’s like that. He and Scott. About a week later, and we were only kind of friends at this point, he came and found me when I was studying in the library. He and Scott sat down on the other side of the table and Stiles pulls out this notebook full of papers and starts outlining his plan for how they were going to help me get out of the hole that I had fallen into. He was going to change his major and go into a business and media double, and Scott was going to help him around his pre-veterinary program, and they introduced me to Kira and Malia, and suddenly I had this close circle of people who all cared so much about me, and I didn’t – I just had Stiles to thank. That’s how he got into being an agent. Literally so I wouldn’t have to deal with any more shitty people.”

Derek stared, speechless.

“We all take care of each other,” Lydia explained. “And I didn’t want you thinking that he’s exactly who he’s trying to work against. Besides, everyone knows that his agency has a spotless reputation.”

“That’s-“ Derek started. His mind was spinning with new information. “I’m glad. I wish there was someone like that when – I’m glad that’s what he’s like. Thanks for telling me.”

“Of course,” Lydia smiled. She rocked Austin a little and then looked at Derek, “Do you want to hold him?”

“What?” He panicked slightly, sliding back in his chair in case she tried to hand the baby off to him. He knew nothing about children. He would probably drop it or break it or something.

“Do you want to see Derek?” she asked it in a sweet voice. “Can you say _Derek_?”

“Dada,” Austin said, making a grabby hand in Derek’s general direction.

“No,” Lydia laughed, “Dada’s not here. He’s with Cora.” She picked the baby up off of her lap, and before Derek knew it, he was in his arms, “This is Derek.”

“What do I do?” he panicked, eyes going wide.

“Just hold him. He’s big enough to hold up his own head, and he can pretty much sit up on his own…He likes it when you make faces and talk to him.”

Derek felt over-sized and ridiculous, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from the little human being in his arms. Austin reached up and touched a finger to Derek’s stubble. “Uh, hi Austin,” he said awkwardly. Austin giggled and started spewing gibberish.

“See?” Lydia raised her eyebrows, taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s pretty great, isn’t it?”

“Are you his mom?” Derek asked before realizing that it was kind of an awkward question, with Stiles and Cora on a date.

“No, just his favorite aunt. Stiles and Austin’s mom broke up before he was born, but Stiles really wanted him, and she didn’t, so…” she shrugged, like it was no big deal. Derek decided to add that to the incredibly long list of things that he would probably spend too long thinking about this week, and moved on to a much easier question.

“Hey, how did you get my phone number anyways?” he asked, pulling his eyes away from Austin for just a second to frown at Lydia.

“Parrish, obviously,” she smiled, “He worries about you.”

Derek rolled his eyes and then looked back down at Austin. It was really hard not to smile.


	8. #noshirtnoproblem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stilinski boys and the Hale siblings have lunch. Also Stiles has multiple near-death experiences while trying to work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance :) shit's about to get real

“I’m sorry,” Derek said out of the blue. Stiles nearly dropped the bar he was bench pressing straight onto his face, which would have been an interesting story, anyways.

“What?” Stiles stared up at him, as he caught the bar easily in one hand.

“Five more reps,” Derek replied. His facial expression didn’t seem to have changed much, but his eyebrows twitched…nervously? Stiles was pretty sure he was the one in the position of mortal peril here, but…

“For assuming…the worst,” Derek continued, finally.

Stiles exhaled heavily, putting the bar back up with an assist from Derek. “Dude, you can’t say stuff like that while I’m bench-pressing.”

Derek frowned. “Like what?” he asked.

Stiles looked over to the lobby, where Cora was reading Austin a picture book and Austin was turning the pages before she could finish the sentence. He had been checking on them intermittently – well, every few seconds, but that counted, right? “I don’t usually care that much what people think of me,” Stiles admitted, “But it drove me crazy knowing that you hated me for whatever you thought I was trying to do. Lydia said – I know that people take advantage a lot, but I’m not one of them.”

“I know,” Derek said.

Stiles shook his head. “I never would have put that picture up if I knew that it would make you so uncomfortable.”

“I don’t mind it anymore,” Derek said after a minute, “It’s…cute.” He looked over at Cora and Austin. “I kind of get it now.”

Stiles grinned. “Lydia let you hold him, huh?” he asked.

Derek frowned at him. “Yes, Stilinski, Austin is the cutest child to grace this planet. Treadmill. Now.”

“Damn straight,” Stiles agreed, making his way to the line of treadmills in front of the long windows of the gym. “Are you going to run with me today or are you going to slack off as usual?” he teased.

Derek surprised him by hopping onto the treadmill next to his, smirking. “Keep up,” he said.

“Dude, we’re totally friends now!”

“Stop calling me dude.” The eyeroll gave it away. They were totally friends as far as Stiles was concerned.

“You should come to lunch with me and Cora after,” Stiles beamed, trying to match Derek’s speed.

“If you beat me, I’ll third wheel on your date.”

He rolled his eyes, fairly certain that Cora told her brother on at least a daily basis that they weren’t dating. Stiles had wanted to at first, but, as usual, he had accidentally made her one of his new best platonic friends, which they were both perfectly happy with. They had tried kissing one time they hung out, and it was so gross Stiles seconded the shot of wheatgrass that Cora immediately ordered from the smoothie place just to wash it out. Very mature. He was aware.

“You know Cora’s just going to talk you into it anyways,” he needled. He glanced at Derek, who’s face said he knew exactly that. Stiles grinned until Derek bumped up the speed on his treadmill, causing Stiles to do the same. “You suck.”

Derek smirked, and pulled his shirt over his head. _Sweet Jesus_ , he thought, _I work with models on a daily basis, but this is – this is –_ he tripped over his own feet and somehow fell backwards off of the treadmill. He was definitely going to have a bump on the back of his head. Derek was twisting around as he lowered the speed of his treadmill, and Stiles not only got a fantastic view of his back muscles, but also the massive swirling tattoo between his shoulder blades. Suddenly, Parrish was in front of him, blocking his view and helping him to his feet.

“You okay?” he asked Stiles, “That was pretty spectacular.”

“Thanks,” he grunted, rubbing the back of his head, “I try.”

“Let me grab you an ice pack for your head,” he said, and jogged off.

“Are you okay?” Derek was suddenly in front of him, still very shirtless.

“Uh…yeah? Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just clumsy, you know?”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “Yeah. How about we finish up early today? Between nearly breaking your nose bench-pressing and then nearly cracking your head open on the treadmill, I’m not sure I want to see what comes next.”

“Probably a good idea,” Stiles choked, trying not to stare at Derek’s six-pack.

He smiled. “I’ll even pay for lunch,” he added.

Stiles was spared the embarrassment of being caught gaping like a fish when Cora joined them laughing hysterically, carrying Austin. “That,” she told him, “Was epic.”

“Thanks,” Stiles smiled sheepishly and dropped a kiss on top of Austin’s head. “I’m going to get changed and then we can go for lunch.”

Parrish joined them, handing Stiles the ice pack, which he held to his head, wincing.

“Is it alright if Cora and I both leave for lunch?” Derek asked him.

“Of course. You’re both good for the rest of the day, I think.”

 

***

 

Stiles strapped Austin into the high chair that the waiter brought them, cooing at how cute the baby was the entire time. Derek did not have a problem with the high chair, but he was highly concerned as to why it was next to him and not Cora. When he looked at her for some sort of answer, though, she just stuck her tongue out at him. For the most part, Austin had been distracted with chewing on his teething ring, but he was staring at Derek again. Derek had no idea what to do. He frowned slightly, and Austin frowned back, still gumming on his bright pink teething ring. Cora snorted in laughter and Derek looked up to see she and Stiles watching him with twin smiles.

“Your baby keeps staring at me,” he told Stiles.

“Maybe he likes your face,” Stiles teased, with a dash of fondness, “It’s probably the beard. I can’t really grow one without it being patchy, and, come to think of it, I’m not sure Aussie’s ever met anyone who can successfully pull off scruff.”

Derek frowned and then looked at Austin, who waved his teething ring at him and started babbling in baby. Stiles watched, looking like the entire world sat in one high chair. It made Derek’s heart clench inexplicably.

“Hey, how would you feel about taking a picture with Austin for the blog?” Stiles asked him suddenly.

Derek stiffened, hesitating. He was pretty sure now that Stiles meant no harm, but still…

“That would be so cute!” Cora exclaimed, “Wouldn’t it be cute, Der?”

“Um…” Derek said.

“You don’t have to,” Stiles said, quickly.

Derek was saved momentarily by the arrival of their food. He watched Stiles mash some of his cooked vegetables with a fork while he talked to Cora and put it on an extra plate.

“We can take the picture,” he said, suddenly, surprising himself.

Stiles looked up quickly as he put the food in front of Austin and smiled brightly. “Really?”

“Sure…of course,” he shrugged.

Stiles whipped out his phone, nearly throwing it across the restaurant in the process, and pushed the high chair around the table until it was next to Derek. “Smile!” he grinned in demonstration.

Derek started to smile, but was distracted by a small hand putting something wet and warm on his face. Startled, he looked down at Austin, who had mashed carrot all over his hand and was giggling uncontrollably. He couldn’t help but smile as he wiped some carrot off of his face and dab it onto the tip of Austin’s nose, which caused his to shriek happily.

Stiles turned from where he was showing Cora his phone to hush his baby, looking around the restaurant apologetically.

“Sorry,” Derek said quickly, suddenly self-conscious.

“Don’t be,” Stiles smiled, running a hand over Austin’s head, “I got some good pictures.” He passed his phone over to Derek, who scrolled through them. There were plenty, one of him at first smiling slightly pained while Austin played with his food, and the rest of Austin gleefully wiping carrot onto a surprised Derek’s face or Derek happily putting it back onto a laughing Austin’s nose. He was sure there weren’t many pictures where he looked so genuinely happy. A glance at a beaming Cora confirmed that.

“Sorry I got food all over his face,” he said, looking up.

“Dude, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Stiles winked, diving into his lunch.

Derek went back through the pictures one more time, smiling slightly, until he went one too far and suddenly there was a happy selfie of Stiles and Cora with their arms around each other, grinning from ear to ear. He wasn’t sure why it seemed to bother him so much, but he went back to the pictures of him and Austin and handed the phone back to Stiles saying, somewhat flatly, “Any of them are good.”

He didn’t miss how Stiles and Cora glanced at each other, but he busied himself with his food and pretended that he did.

It was only a few minutes later that his phone vibrated with a text. Cora seemed to have the same one because they both checked surreptitiously at the same time. Derek’s fork clattered onto the plate and he felt Cora looking at him in concern. Suddenly his stomach wanted nothing to do with lunch. “I’m sorry,” he found himself saying as he stood, “I have to go.”

He vaguely heard Cora apologizing to Stiles behind him, assuring him that she would call later to explain, but he pushed out the door of the restaurant, head spinning, and started towards home.

“Derek!” Cora was running down the street behind him, but he didn’t slow down. What was she going to say to him? There was nothing to say. Luckily they only lived a few blocks away, so Derek was able to push into their apartment, dragging Cora inside with him, and lock the door reasonably quickly.

“Derek,” she tried again, very softly this time, vulnerable, reminding him that she was his younger sister. Derek went around locking the windows and closing the curtains. When he was finished with that, he found Cora still standing in the middle of the living room, bag still on her shoulder looking lost.

“We should call Peter,” Derek said roughly, not really wanting to.

“I’m sure he already knows,” Cora said carefully.

Derek sank onto the couch. “Kate,” he said slowly, “Kate…is out of prison…”

Cora sat next to him and pulled a shearling throw around both their shoulders, sitting cross-legged, like they used to when they were little, and looked at him carefully, not saying anything.

“Fuck.” He leaned into her side, trembling.

 

***

 

Stiles sat at the table in the restaurant alone (except for Austin) and bewildered. “What just happened?” he asked Austin, who stared at him, chewing messily on his teething ring with a face covered in mushed carrots. Stiles looked around for his server and asked for the check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw if you're a fan of Thiam, I'm putting up a holiday-ish fic tomorrow that is pretty much entirely fluff. It's very relaxing compared to what this one's turning into and makes me want to drink hot chocolate by a fire in cozy socks...but maybe that's just me :)


	9. #nailbiter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finds out what happened to Derek and Cora. Malia has an idea. Derek holds a baby again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter was a mess while I was trying to write it. Hopefully it's readable now! Thanks for all of the interest and the sweet comments - you guys are the best! :)

“I don’t know, they just left. They didn’t say anything,” Stiles frowned. “Well, they both got texts at the same time... Do you think that was it?”

“I don’t know, Stiles,” Scott sighed, pulling his legs into his chest.

Stiles frowned and poured more Johnson & Johnson into his hand. “Just,” he continued, frustrated, “I thought things were going well, you know?”

“I know, I still can’t believe Derek told you he was sorry,” Scott said for at least the fifth time.

“You know Lydia. She probably threatened to castrate him if he didn’t say something,” Stiles snorted, working he shampoo into a wriggling Austin’s hair. His shirt was totally soaked, and he was pretty sure he sweatpants were too, from where we was kneeling on the floor. The bottom of Scott’s jeans definitely were.

His phone rang from its safe spot on top of the toilet. Scott got up to see who it was without Stiles needing to ask, so Stiles blew a handful of soap suds at Austin, who squealed, trying to catch the bubbles, making him smile for the first time in a while.

“Speak of the devil,” Scott muttered. “Hey Lydia, let me put you on speaker phone.”

“Stiles, have you seen the news,” Lydia demanded.

“What news?” Stiles rolled his eyes at Scott.

“Just turn on your television.”

“We’re giving Austin a bath right now,” Scott said, “Why don’t you just tell us what’s going on?”

Stiles could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Fine. Kate Argent got let out of prison.”

Scott and Stiles looked at each other. “Who?” Scott asked.

“ _Kate Argent_ ,” Lydia said, “Derek’s ex. They could only get her on what she did to Derek, but some people think that she set the fire too.”

“Shit,” Stiles said quietly. He scooped Austin out of the bathtub and swaddled him in the towel with the bumble bee on the hood and cuddled him close to his chest.

“Stiles-“ Scott started.

“I know. That’s why Derek and Cora left yesterday.” Stiles felt even worse knowing. “I wish there was something that I could do,” he said, miserably.

“Well, I’m at Malia’s right now and she actually has kind of a good plan for once…”

 

***

 

Stiles was feeding Austin his bottle when his doorbell rang. “Coming,” he shouted, standing up from the couch where he had been watching the Mets, and bouncing Austin a bit on his hip as he walked to the door. Out of habit, he looked through the peephole and then the window next to the door. Derek Hale was on his doorstep, dufflebag over his shoulder. He swung the door open quickly and smiled.

“Hey, did they drop you and run?” he asked.

Derek looked over his shoulder and nodded.

“Alright, come on in, then.” He stood back to let Derek inside and then closed and locked the door.

“Thanks for doing this,” Derek said quietly, “You can kick me out whenever you want to…I’m not sure when it will be okay for me to go home.”

“Hey, mi casa es su casa, you know?” Stiles said, shifting Austin higher on his shoulder. “I just want to help. I couldn’t imagine…” he shook his head. “I just want to help you, dude.”

Derek nodded, and looked around. “Mets?” he asked, catching sight of the television, which was still on.

“Oh, yeah. You an Athletics fan?” Stiles asked, watching Derek curiously.

Derek smiled a little. “My whole family is,” he said.

Stiles shook his head in disgust. “That’s a disgrace.” He looked at Austin. “What do you think we should do?” Austin gurgled a little and curled a pudgy hand into Stiles’s shirt. “Should we kick him to the curb? Huh? No, that wouldn’t be very nice, would it?” He glanced at Derek, smoothing a hand over Austin’s velvety head and said, “I guess we’ll keep him.” Derek was smiling at them, still a little sadly, but smiling nonetheless. Stiles decided that he was going to do whatever he could to make Derek comfortable and happy again. He remembered a similar air of hopelessness that used to follow Lydia. “Can I show you your room, then?” he asked.

“Sure,” Derek shrugged.

Stiles led him towards the staircase, snatching a pacifier from the kitchen table when Austin started to fuss about the interruption in his bottle time. The guest room was next to his own, which was across from Austin’s nursery. Normally Stiles pretended it was an office, since it had a desk, but until earlier in the day, it had been used for storage. Now it was decorated with a quilt that he had gotten from Scott’s mom’s attic, and a picture or two that his mom had painted, that he had found in his dad’s attic. Attic shopping was the best. Kira had even brought over a vase of flowers when she came to relieve Scott from crazy Stiles house cleaning duty, which Stiles thought was a little much, but as long as it felt a little homier, it was good.

Stiles watched, shifting Austin to his other hip as Derek looked around. “Thanks,” he said again, dropping his bag on the bed and turning to face Stiles.

“No problem,” Stiles grinned, “Want a tour of the house?”

“Okay,” Derek said.

Stiles frowned. Derek was usually a minimalist when it came to conversations, but today the monotone, monosyllabic sentences were worrying. “Awesome,” he pulled the smile back, “Hey, do you want to hold Austin?” Derek looked like a deer in the headlights, which made Stiles smile even wider. “He’s getting a little heavy here.”

“Uh okay, I guess-“ Derek cut himself off as Stiles passed Austin to him. Stiles showed him how to hold him so that his head was at Derek’s shoulder, and tucked a spit up rag over his shoulder.

“Just in case, you know. He was in the middle of having his bottle when you got here,” Stiles explained, “Anyways, this is your room, across the hall,” he lead the way, “Is the bathroom. Feel free to help yourself to towels, soap, whatever. Shower’s pretty simple.” He led the way down the hall. “This is Austin’s nursery. Hopefully he doesn’t wake you up in the middle of the night. And my room is across the hall, obviously.” He looked over his shoulder at Derek, who looked…he looked almost natural holding Austin as carefully as if he were hand-spun glass. His sad expression had almost entirely been replaced by an overwhelmed, surprised look, which Stiles was going to say was at least a step in the right direction. “Am I going too fast?” he asked.

“No, it’s fine…maybe you should take him down the stairs, though,” Derek said nervously.

Stiles moved around to Derek’s side to look at Austin. “We trust Derek, don’t we, Aussie?” He asked, nuzzling their noses together, which brought his face very close to Derek’s. “He’s all big muscles, isn’t he? Derek won’t drop you.”

“Dadadada,” Austin said around his pacifier.

“Great,” Stiles rolled his eyes, laughing as he stepped away from Derek, “Now he thinks _you’re_ his dad.”

“I’m not –“ Derek protested quickly.

“Relax, dude,” Stiles snorted, “It’s one of the first digrams that babies learn. Usually ‘mama’ is the first since the ‘m’ sound is easier to pronounce, but Austin hears ‘dada’ a lot more, so…”

“Sorry,” Derek said quickly, “Lydia told me…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Stiles lead the way back down the stairs. “It was an amicable breakup. Heather left Austin entirely in my care, so…it’s fine. I’m going to her wedding in a couple of weeks and everything.” If Derek noticed the slight sound of annoyance in Stiles’s voice, he didn’t say anything. “Anyways, the laundry room’s over here. I change Aus in there a lot cause that’s where all of his stuff is, but the bathroom’s across the hall over there. And the kitchen’s in here. Help yourself to whatever food and drinks you want. Stock the fridge with whatever you want. What’s mine is yours and so on.”

“Seriously, Stiles,” Derek said, as they went back to the living room, “Thanks for this. I think it’s kind of ridiculous, but it makes Cora feel better, so…”

Stiles sat down on the couch, grabbing the bottle, and holding out his hands for Austin, who Derek passed over easily. If Stiles had stopped to think of it, he would have considered how practiced the exchange seems, how domestic, but he bowled right into his next train of thought. “You know,” he said, “I remember years ago, when Scott and I were little, the night that his dad left…” he pulled the pacifier out of Austin’s mouth and handed him the bottle, “I wasn’t there, obviously, and I wasn’t really old enough to know what was actually going on, but the phone rang when my mom was putting me to bed, and she picked up. It was Scott’s mom, she said, she was calling to get my dad to come and arrest Scott’s dad. She had to take Scott to the hospital. I found out later that he had come home drunk and pushed him down the stairs.” Derek said nothing, but when Stiles looked over, he was watching him carefully. “The point is, Melissa called, and the Sheriff came running. It might have been the first time, but it hasn’t been the last. We all stick together, you know? We’re here to help each other. And I want to help you too. So if I have to call the whole Sheriff station down on this house for you, I will.  And you better believe you’re going to let me.”

Derek was looking at him a bit like he had two heads, but this time, his “thank you” had real meaning.

Stiles smiled. “Don’t mention it, dude. You’re a part of this now, whether you like it or not.

 

***

 

Derek was used to looking out for Cora and have her look out for him, the same was true with Parrish, to an extent, but he had never had anyone he knew so little care so much. Stiles and his circle of friends and family were willing to drop everything to help his girlfriend’s brother, and that absolutely boggled Derek’s mind.

They were sitting on Stile’s couch in Stiles’s living room, watching the Mets maintain a tie with the Phillies. Stiles was sitting with Austin in his lap and his feet on the coffee table while Austin sucked down the rest of the milk in his bottle, eyes fixed on the TV for the most part, but occasionally flickering down to his son or over to Derek, as if checking up on them. Suddenly, something occurred to Derek.

“Why isn’t Cora staying with you?” he asked.

Stiles looked at him and shrugged. “She said she was good staying at Malia’s,” he said easily.

“Are you fighting?” Derek asked, turning his eyes back to the game. He wasn’t sure how he would feel about Stiles and Cora breaking up. On one hand, he really didn’t want his sister to have to go through another break-up, especially right now. On the other hand, for some unknown reason, Derek really hated the idea of Stiles and Cora dating. He used to think it was because Cora was his sister and he was protective, but when he glanced at Stiles, handing Austin his teething ring as he set the empty bottle aside, he had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason.

“No?” Stiles looked at him in confusion. “Did she say something to you?”

“I just thought,” Derek said, quickly, deciding that it wasn’t his place to spark an argument between his sister and her boyfriend, “I mean, I figured that she would have wanted to stay with her boyfriend instead of her weird cousin.”

Stiles snorted. “Enough with the me and Cora dating thing already,” he said, “I thought she would have convinced you by now.”

Derek’s heart sped up. “You’re not?” he asked.

“Never have been, never will be. Oh, come on! What was that supposed to be?” he complained to the screen. He glanced over at Derek. “Is that a problem?”

Derek smiled a little. “Not at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Stiles has another room mate now! I'm excited for there to be a lot more Sterek soon now that they have to spend a lot of time together! Thanks for reading!


	10. #saturdaysarefortheboys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Derek go grocery shopping. It's a disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that I haven't been updating and also that this chapter is kind of short. Last week was pretty terrible, and I'm also trying to write three fics at once, which was probably a bad idea. But if you can't say it at Christmas, when can you, eh? 
> 
> Enjoy :)

Stiles and Derek both had Saturday off, and seeing as how Derek had spent the past few days quiet and awkwardly trying to keep to himself, Stiles decided that Derek was going to help him with _everything_. Well, everything except for breakfast.

Derek emerged from his room around 8am, sniffing the air. “It smells like cinnamon.”

“Cinnamon pancakes, dude!” Stiles said, waving his spatula around, “Famous Stilinski recipe. Want to grab some plates for me?”

Derek snorted, but slid past him to reach for the plates, hand ghosting over Stiles’s lower back. “I would be impressed,” he said, as he set the plates on the counter and dug around in the silverware drawer, “Except that you made easy mac yesterday and called _that_ the ‘famous Stilinski recipe’.”

Stiles tried to force his blush down and stop staring at Derek’s arms, but it wasn’t working very well. “Whatever,” he said, “Want to get Austin for breakfast? I’m pretty much done.” He turned off the stove and pulled out the maple syrup and butter. Derek was still sort of shy around Austin, which was just all kinds of adorable, and he treated him very carefully, but Austin _loved_ him. And Derek always brightened up right away when he saw him. Stiles was not jealous of his infant son at all.

“Jesus, Stiles,” he heard Derek call from the other room, “Do you know how many baby toys I just tripped on from one room to the next?” Stiles carried the heaping plate of pancakes to the table and grinned at Derek, meaning it to be annoying, but feeling infinitely more fond and mushy when he saw Derek, stooped a little, walking hand-in-hand with a toddling Austin into the kitchen.

“Oh my god,” Stiles said, staring.

“What?” Derek looked from him to Austin quickly, “Am I supposed to let him walk by himself?” He asked, looking slightly self-conscious.

“No, no,” Stiles said quickly, feeling his face heat up, “It’s fine.” He wanted so badly to turn around and try to look less embarrassed, but he had other things to do, so he went over to the pair and swooped Austin up, tossing him into the air once before putting him in his high chair, still giggling.

“You are the cutest ever,” he told him with a smacking kiss to his forehead. He turned to see Derek smiling, ears a little pink. “You’re smiling dude,” he grinned.

Derek tried to stifle his smile at once. “Am not,” he said quickly, but Stiles kept smiling as he broke up a pancake on Austin’s tray. “You’re really good with him,” Derek spoke again, “You’re a really good dad.”

They were definitely both blushing now. “Thanks.” Stiles turned to his own breakfast, “You’re pretty good with him too…for being scared of babies.”

“I’m not scared of babies,” Derek grunted.

“I’ve seen your face whenever somebody makes you hold Aussie,” he thought about it for a second, “Before you start smiling at him like he’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Which he is.”

“What are you doing today?” Derek asked after a minute.

“ _We_ are going to the grocery store and then to the park. We can have lunch in or out, whatever you want. And then you’re going to train me at the gym – “

Derek paled. “I can’t – “

“It’s your job. I know you think Kate will show up wherever you go and maybe you’re not wrong, but you can’t let her dictate your life. Who knows how long it will take to get her behind bars forever, you know?”

Derek was staring at him. “What do you mean?” he asked carefully.

Stiles looked down at his plate. “She set the fire, right? There has to be evidence. If they’re really guilty, eventually, they make a mistake. They always make a mistake.”

“You want to help me put Kate away?” Derek asked, expression unreadable.

“I want to help you,” Stiles said, feeling the honesty in his bones.

Derek looked at Austin and then at Stiles and then shook his head. “Okay,” he relented.

Stiles grinned. “Great! We’re having dinner with my dad tonight, by the way, so he’ll probably be able to help too.”

Derek’s fork clattered onto his plate. “What?”

 

***

 

Taking Austin to the grocery store and the park required a lot of bags and strollers and spare things, all of which somehow fit in the back of Stiles’s jeep. Stiles seemed to be an expert at simultaneously entertaining Austin and doing the actual grocery shopping, but he occasionally remembered to give half the job to Derek.

“Sorry,” he said, when Derek handed him the box of cereal that he had been trying to reach while waving a rattle toy in front of Austin. “I’m so used to doing this myself. I swear it helps that you’re here,” he said.

“It’s fine,” Derek shrugged. He glanced at Stiles’s messy list, which was balanced precariously on the cart, just out of Austin’s reach. “Peanut butter was an aisle back. Want me to grab it?”

“Sure,” Stiles smiled, “See? This is exactly why I brought you!”

“Sure, it is,” Derek rolled his eyes.

He was rounding the corner with a jar of peanut butter in hand, when he noticed someone standing at the cart with Stiles. She had her back to Derek, and was mostly blocking his view of Stiles, but he could tell that Stiles was using his body to shield Austin, probably on instinct more than anything else. He got a little closer before he stopped dead, realizing with a sinking feeling in his gut that those blonde, unrealistic waves were all too familiar to him. Stiles caught his eye and shook his head slightly, eyes darting meaningfully back to where Derek had come from.

It took a second to get his feet to move, but he slipped back around the corner into the other aisle and pretended to be interested in the various brands and types of peanut butter. His heart was racing in his chest and he could feel his hands shaking a little. By the time Stiles pushed the cart up next to him, he had worked himself up into a panic.

“Hey,” Stiles said gently, “It’s alright. Look, take Austin and go to the car. Sit in the back seat and lock the doors. If you see her, there’s a police scanner in the glove compartment. Just turn it on and say that there’s a blue 1980 Jeep CJ-5 parked illegally in the Raley’s parking lot. Okay? You’ll be fine.” He lifted Austin out of the seat and handed him to Derek. “I’ll be out as soon as I pay for this.” He gave Derek his car keys and shooed him away towards the exit.

Derek still felt panicked, and his feet were rushing towards the car without running, but Austin’s small fist had a death grip on his shirt, and that somehow grounded him. He slid into the backseat of Stiles’s Jeep, just as Austin was starting to fuss and locked the doors. As a precaution, he dug the police scanner out of the glove compartment and then sunk low in his seat, holding a wriggling Austin to his chest.

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked him, “It’s okay. Your dad will be back in a minute.”

He tried to pull Austin away to see if he wanted to be put down, but he just clung tighter to Derek’s shirt. “Dada,” he mumbled into Derek’s shoulder.

Derek lay back along the seat and cradled Austin to his chest. “Your Dada will be here soon,” he said, stroking a hand along Austin’s back. Everything will be okay then. Everything’s always better when he’s here, isn’t it?” Austin wiggled less and less as Derek rubbed his back, and soon his breathing evened out. Knowing that Kate was technically still probably within distance of breaking the restraining order, he knew that he should be much more afraid, and he had been before, but feeling Austin’s heavy breaths rise and fall against his own body, he could only close his eyes and feel peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if that's a cliffhanger? Not really sure...


	11. #catnap #sweaterweather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek finds out that he actually has a whole bunch of people who are there for him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes and thank you all for being so lovely! Your comments always make my day :)
> 
> PS - I may or may not update on Monday. We're having a mini Christmas this weekend so I'll be busy, but I could always end up super inspired and writing in the middle of the night - who knows!

Derek startled awake when the trunk of the car creaked open. Austin’s snuffling and quiet noises had him checking to see that he was also awake.

“Taking a little cat nap, there?” Stiles asked through the back as Derek sat up.

“What?” Derek squinted at him, watching him add groceries to the steadily filling trunk.

“I saw Kate drive away, so I went back in to get the rest,” Stiles continued, “Did Austin fall asleep too? He’s not supposed to nap in the afternoons anymore, but it’s probably a good thing, since he always stays up late at Grandpa’s.”

“Sorry,” Derek rubbed the hand that wasn’t holding Austin over his face, “Let me help with those.” He strapped Austin into his tremendously complicated car seat, and then climbed out of the Jeep to help unload the last few bags of groceries from the cart.

“Thanks,” Derek said, when they climbed back into the front of the car. “For, you know, handling it. Clearly I couldn’t.”

“You shouldn’t _have_ to handle it on your own,” Stiles glanced at him, “But you know I’m always here for you, dude.”

***

They took it easy for the rest of the day. Stiles tried to convince Derek that they didn’t need to go to the gym, they could do it another day, but Derek wasn’t having it. So they unloaded the groceries, ate lunch, dropped Austin off at his dad’s house, and went to the gym. Kate did not show up. Derek was trying to hide it, but Stiles could tell that he felt relieved. He felt relieved every time they came home.

 _It was a good idea,_ Stiles subtly texted Malia, while he waited for Derek downstairs, _He needed it._

 _I know_ , she texted back almost immediately. Stiles smiled.

A few minutes later, Derek came down the stairs and into the living room, looking distinctly uncomfortable, despite his dark-wash jeans and red sweater with thumbholes. Stiles grinned at him.

“How long did it take you to choose that outfit?” he asked.

Derek frowned and muttered something so low that Stiles couldn’t hear it.

“Huh?” Stiles grinned wider still.

“Cora said it makes me look softer,” he repeated, and then glared, as if to make up for the softness.

“Yeah, the thumb-holes do the trick…oh my _god_ are you trying to impress my _dad_?” Stiles gasped.

“Can we just go?” Derek continued on to grab his leather jacket off of the hook by the door.

“Derek, he’s totally going to love you,” Stiles assured him, jumping up off of the sofa to join him on the way out the door. He paused to feel the fabric of his shirt before realizing that he was basically feeling up Derek’s abs, and snatched his hand back. “And it _is_ a soft shirt, so point for Cora.”

Derek looked too surprised to reply, so Stiles locked the door behind them and they got into his Jeep.

The short ride over to his dad’s was quiet, but he could feel the tension. “Dude, you’re not nervous, are you?” Stiles asked as they got out of the driveway.

“No.” The lie was obvious.

He grinned and pushed his way in through the front door. “We’re here!” he yelled, “Where is my child?”

To his surprise (okay, maybe not so much, but Derek definitely seemed surprised), Scott slid into the hall with a huge, puppyish grin on his face. “Hey Derek!” He said, giving Derek a massive hug, which seemed to make him slightly uncomfortable but maybe also pleased. “Dude!” Scott turned to Stiles, “You brought Derek!”

“I know, man,” Stiles laughed, returning his hug, “I thought it was just gonna be Dad tonight.” He glanced over his shoulder at Derek to see how he was handling the change of plans, but he seemed fine, so he shrugged and followed Scott back into the kitchen. Melissa was sitting on the floor with Austin, playing peek-a-boo, while his dad and Kira were hovering over the stove, apparently trying to decide if dinner was ready.

“Derek! Stiles!” Melissa looked up from the game and smiled warmly at them. Scott gathered Austin from the floor and let his mom hug Stiles before passing Austin into his dad’s hands. Stiles cooed and cuddled and blew raspberries, making Aussie giggle, and glanced over to see Melissa giving Derek a hug, saying, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, honey. We’re so glad you’re here.”

“You know,” Stiles’s dad said, abandoning Scott and Kira to setting the table, “Your Aussie-Roo is much better behaved than you ever were at that age.”

Stiles gave his dad a long hug with Austin snuggled between them.  “I was the perfect child and you know it,” Stiles told him, “You haven’t met Derek yet, have you? Derek, this is my dad.”

He wanted very badly to laugh when Derek stood up impossibly straighter and held out his hand. “Thank you for inviting me, sir.”

Stiles’s dad waved Derek’s hand away and pulled him into a firm hug. “None of that ‘sir’ crap,” he said, “I get enough of that at the station. Call me Noah.”

Derek looked a bit overwhelmed, but nodded. Stiles was about to try and distract him with Austin, which just about always worked (hah Stiles remembered when Derek used to claim to hate his baby – as if!), when Scott brought Kira over. Stiles wanted to facepalm at the poor timing – Derek was clearly overwhelmed, at least, Stiles thought so, and Scott thought that _now_ was a good time to introduce him to another person? Instead, Derek smiled at her and said, “You must be Kira, right? Scott’s told me so much about you.”

“Yes!” Kira smiled, excitedly, “And you’re Derek, his personal trainer. I’m so happy he found you – he’s been so excited about going to the gym lately!”

Stiles watched them talk for a bit and decided that Derek would have no problem fitting in with his friends and family. Not that he needed to, Stiles thought quickly, it wasn’t like he and Derek were the ones getting married –

“How’s it going, kiddo?” Melissa said suddenly at his shoulder, “Your brain looks like it’s in overdrive.”

“I’m just thinking that I’m happy that everyone’s so happy…I’m trying to figure out how to keep it that way.”

“We’ll make it work,” she smiled, giving him and Austin a tight hug, “It’s good to see you.”

“You too,” Stiles grinned. Melissa could never replace his real mother, but she was just as amazing.

“Food’s ready,” his dad announced, and there was the usual chaos of drinks and chairs and strapping Austin into his high chair.

 

***

 

Derek hadn’t expected Scott, his mom, and his fiancée to be at dinner, but he was sort of glad they were. They were loud and cooked amazing food and immediately treated him like family. It made him wonder what he had done to deserve their love and trust so easily. Austin made a mess of throwing his food all over the floor, which then required a quick bath after dinner from Stiles, and Derek helping Stiles’s dad to clean up the floor and the high chair while the others cleared the table.

“So Stiles tells me you have a case you’ve been trying to solve,” Noah said, ripping off another piece of paper towel. Derek stiffened, eyebrows furrowing. “Relax, son. I’ve been doing police work for longer than you’ve been alive. If you’d like our help, I’m sure I can get some deputies to do a little digging, on the down-low, of course.”

Derek nodded sharply.

“I understand why you’re not one to trust easily, but you’ve gotta know that Stiles only ever wants the best for everyone he meets.”

“I think maybe you’re a little biased, as his father,” Derek said, keeping a flat expression.

“You could be right,” he admitted, glancing at Derek, “But I think you’ve already seen it.”

“All fresh and clean!” Stiles announced, pushing Derek’s thoughts off of the _feelings about Stiles_ track, which he was all too happy to ignore. “How are we doing in here?”

“All clean,” his dad said, climbing to his feet, “Do you want me to give Austin his bottle?”

“If you want,” Stiles smiled, clearly knowing that his dad wanted more time with his precious grandson.

Derek went into the living room, where the others were sitting while the Stilinski men heated up a bottle, for lack of anything better to do.

“Derek!” Melissa, gestured him over to the sofa, “We were just talking about the wedding – how do you think Scott’s coming along with his fitness goals.”

Scott groaned. “Mom’s a nurse at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital,” He explained.

“Oh,” Derek said, sitting down, “That’s amazing. Nurses do _not_ get paid enough…” Melissa beamed. “He’s doing really well, though. Building muscle fast.”

“Well let’s hope you don’t pop out of your suit, huh, buddy?” Stiles grinned as he came into the room and plopped down onto the couch at Derek’s side.

Derek opened his mouth to tell Stiles that there was no way that Scott was going to gain muscle that fast, but Stiles nudged him in the side, smiling so directly at _him_ that Derek gave it up.

“So what’s the plan for this Kate situation?” his dad asked, walking in with a fussy Austin in one arm and a bottle of milk in the other.

Derek stiffened at the sound of her name, but Stiles pressed his thigh against Derek’s and gave him a questioning look. Derek nodded that he was fine to talk about it.

“We suspect that Kate set the fire, but so far there’s been no proof. Derek has a restraining order on her, but she seems to be interested in finding him, which I would guess means that Derek probably has access to the evidence that could put her away for life this time.” He looked to his dad, now sitting in the rocking chair, for confirmation.

“It’s worth investigating,” he nodded thoughtfully, “Any ideas on where to start, Derek?”

Derek looked around at the hopeful and supportive faces. They were all sitting there prepared to help him however he might need it. He looked at Stiles, sitting next to him, who had brought them all together.

“All you, big guy,” he smiled encouragingly.

Derek took a deep breath, and then began to voice his secret suspicions about the worst event of his life to the world's most friendly strangers.


	12. #commonsense #aintsocommon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek comes face to face with Kate. He and Stiles don't find something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Kate Argent is in this chapter. She and Derek talk for about the first half of the chapter. If you want to skip over that part, the first two paragraphs are safe to read and then you can skip to the first ***. I'll put spoiler notes at the bottom so you don't miss any plot. I think she's a bit more tame here than she usually is with Derek on the show, but she's still pretty evil, and obviously Derek is going to be uncomfortable.  
> Also, Derek goes back to the Hale house for the first time since the fire, and talks about what happened to his family. It's in the last section at the end, and it's pretty brief, but, again, I'll sum up the plot of this chapter in the end notes if that's something you want to skip (The section starts with the second ***)
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and for sticking with it - I'm sure all of this plot and angst are not what you thought you were getting into (I definitely didn't think it would end up like this when I started, but here we are...)! I'm thinking this will be done by the beginning of January, so I'm tentatively capping the chapters at 18, including an epilogue. 
> 
> Enjoy!

What Derek wanted and what Derek needed did not match up. What he needed was to visit the ruins of his childhood home. Noah Stilinski promised him access to the house and a number of deputies as backup. Stiles volunteered to go with him, which Scott quickly diddoed, and Melissa volunteered to babysit. The police had searched for signs of arson after the fire so many years ago, but nothing had been found in the house or on their property. What they didn’t know, however, was that there was a secret way into the house. Derek and Cora hadn’t thought that it was important at first, but as the years went on, and they grew wiser, suspicion began to creep up on Derek that proving that Kate had known about that tunnel could be enough to get a foot in the door at her trial. Derek needed to go home.

What Derek wanted, however, was to stay with Stiles and Austin. To go to the photo shoot that he and Isaac and Lydia all had booked for the day and see Stiles and Austin, and maybe even Mason behind the camera, making sure everything was going smoothly. He had somehow grown used to waking up to Stiles making a racket in the nursery, tripping over things as he tried his hardest to be quiet. Making dinner of heating up bottles when Stiles got distracted in the middle of what he was doing, and playing with Austin so Stiles could nap on the couch. His apartment had been a fortress. A place to retreat into and ignore the world. Stiles’s house had somehow started to feel like home. He had given Derek so much. Derek wanted to find a way to give back.

Where he had ended up on Thursday night on his way home from another photo shoot was neither what he wanted or needed.

“Hey, there, sweetie.” Derek froze. It When Lydia called people ‘sweetie’, it was safe and loving, often with an edge of exasperation or sarcasm. When Kate used the word, Derek’s blood turned to ice.

“I have a restraining order,” he ground out.

Kate lifted her hands in what was probably supposed to be a conciliatory move, pushing off of his to stride easily towards him. “Oh, Derek, I’m just passing by…I didn’t even know you were here.” She smiled, confident in her lie. “But now that you _are_ …”

Derek forced himself to stand his ground, hand curling tightly around his phone in his pocket. He wished with all his heart that Stiles was there. Danny had been at the photoshoot, while Stiles took care of things at the office. Apparently Stiles’s company was an offshoot of the larger agency that Derek used, and strings had been pulled to place someone from his circle at all of Derek’s events lately. Derek knew exactly who was behind it, and it never ceased to surprise him.

“Leave now, or I’m calling the police,” he growled.

She laughed. It no longer sounded pretty and musical to Derek’s ears. He could hear the hollowness in it now. “Why do that when we could have such a nice talk instead,” she cooed, “I have some questions for you, you know.” Derek glared. “You don’t think I set the fire, do you, Derek?” He remained silent. “Of course you do,” she sighed, “Look, I know you know that I lost something in that secret passage we used to use. Do you remember that? I lost a necklace last time I was there…kind of a family heirloom.”

“I don’t have your necklace,” he said.

“But you know who does,” her voice turned hard, “If you’re going to try to use that as evidence –“

The door into the parking garage flew open and Derek spun around. Danny was jogging towards him, a little out of breath. “Oh good!” Danny said, “You’re still here. Think you could give me a ride?”

Derek looked over his shoulder, but Kate had disappeared. He felt himself relax a little. “Yeah, of course,” he said.

“Thanks!” Danny grinned at him. It was a gorgeous smile, but Derek – Derek suddenly only cared about one smile. Well…maybe two.

 

***

 

Stiles looked at the clock nervously as he pulled Aussie’s onesie back up over his fresh diaper. Derek was supposed to be home almost half an hour ago. He was aware that that wasn’t _such_ a long time, but given the circumstances, he thought he had a right to be worried. He blew a raspberry on Austin’s tummy, making him squeal with laughter as he zipped the onesie up the rest of the way, and then kissed the top of his head as he carried him back into the kitchen. Dinner had been ready for about ten minutes, but Stiles didn’t want to eat yet. Not while his stomach was tying itself in knots. He put Austin in his high chair and was washing his hands when he heard the front door open. He spun around, hands still a little damp, and moved into the hallway. Derek was closing the door, taking his jacket off, and looking more than a little tense.

“Thank god,” Stiles breathed. He had thought that it was under his breath, but Derek looked up suddenly.

“Kate,” Derek said by way of explanation, and then added, “And I gave Danny a ride home.”

“Are you okay?” he asked quickly.

“Better now,” he nodded, still looking tense. Seconds later, Stiles had crossed the hall and was hugging Derek tightly, leeching the tension out of him. After a second of hesitation, Derek hugged back. Stiles couldn’t help smiling as he pulled away, but the corners of Derek’s mouth were raised slightly and he seemed much more at ease.

“Anyways,” Stiles said, feeling a little awkward, “Dinner’s ready.” Austin squealed in the other room as if to punctuate this.

“I think we need to go to my old house tonight,” Derek said as they walked into the kitchen.

Stiles looked up from giving Austin his food sharply. “Why’s that?” he asked.

“She said something about…I just think I know where to look,” Derek said.

“Okay,” Stiles said, slowly, “We’ll go after dinner. I can call my dad –“

“We won’t need backup,” Derek said.

“Maybe not,” Stiles frowned, “But we’ll need a babysitter.”

 

***

 

Stiles pulled his jacket closer around himself as they trekked through the woods. It had been years since anyone had come to the house, as evidenced by the state of the driveway. Stiles likes to think that his Jeep did pretty well off-roading, but a tree across the road wasn’t something any car could overcome, so now they were walking. A couple more yards brought them out of the woods and into a clearing, in the middle of which what must have once been a beautiful mansion stood, color greying with soot and time, roof partially collapsed inwards, and supports creaking in the light wind.

He looked at Derek. Stiles had watched his mom slowly change and fade before his eyes before she died. He wondered if it was similar for Derek to see his home in such a state, after having seen it vibrant and full of life. The tension in his shoulders and the furrow in his brow said yes.

“Do we need to go inside?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah.” Derek’s voice sounded a little harsh, but his jaw was set and he looked determined.

Stiles took his hand on impulse, smiling and threading his fingers through Derek’s in silent solidarity when he shot Stiles a surprised, questioning glance. He nodded once and they started up the stairs, walking carefully on the burned out, rotten wood.

The inside looked worse than the outside, walls blackened and furniture tattered. The windows were all shattered, and the stairs leading up were broken and sagging. Derek’s hand clenched around Stiles’s, but he led on to a broken-in door, somewhere near the middle of the house. Stiles had seen enough in his days of crashing crime scenes to know what a kicked-in door looked like. He shined his flashlight down the dark set of stairs.

“Be careful,” was all Derek said, before untangling their hands and starting down the stairs.

“Maybe the guy with the flashlight should go first,” Stiles suggested, lifting the flashlight higher to give them both light. Derek ignored him and they eventually made their way into the basement, only one step creaking ominously.

“We had a passage built down here,” Derek explained, as Stiles swung the flashlight around. “My dad was a little paranoid, but I think that he probably had the right idea…”

Stiles didn’t notice the door until Derek led him to it, even though it was ajar.

“Kate blocked off the far end and then came back here and locked the door to the basement when everyone came down. My uncle Peter almost burned to sleep in his bed before the firefighters rescued him. He always was a heavy sleeper.”

Stiles let Derek speak in his monotone as they walked down the tunnel. He wasn’t sure if he had talked about it before, but maybe coming back, getting closure, was cathartic. Eventually they came to a door and Derek looked around. “I would’ve seen it by now,” he muttered, frowning.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Stiles asked.

“It was her necklace, but –“ He stopped, tracing a spiral that was scratched onto the wooden door with his finger. “Oh. Of course he has it.”

“He who?”

Derek looked at him, his expression difficult to read. “My Uncle Peter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Section 1: Kate ambushes Derek in the parking garage after a photo shoot. She thinks he has access to the necklace that she lost while setting the fire. Derek doesn't have the necklace, but she thinks he knows who does. Danny interrupts, Kate disappears, and Derek drives him home.  
> Section 3:Derek and Stiles go to the burnt out Hale house. They do into the secret tunnels under the house, and while they don't find Kate's necklace, they do find a spiral scratched into a door, leading Derek to think that Peter has it.


	13. #mancrushmonday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora confronts Derek, and Stiles thinks about confronting himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Peter next chapter ;)

The look of relief on Stiles’s face every time he realized that he could take a nap or make dinner without worrying about what Austin was doing was sad, but Derek felt an overwhelming happiness in knowing that he could help Stiles even just a little bit. This time, he was taking a long shower while Derek got Austin ready for the morning. He picked him up from the crib, bouncing him a few times on the way to the changing table. Never in his life had he thought that he would get used to changing diapers so fast. Austin blinked at him and waved his little hand around as Derek gently laid him down. He went through all of the motions, blowing raspberries on his belly, just like Stiles always did, and babbling nonsense.

The shower turned off while Derek and Austin were starting on breakfast, and Stiles came down a few minutes later, kissing Austin on the top of his head and sending Derek what he liked to think was a special smile for the plate of pancakes sitting ready for him.

“Thanks, dude,” he said, sitting down and digging in.

“Literally the least I could do,” Derek told him.

“It’s a lot to me,” Stiles said, the tips of his ears turning pink, “Anyways…I was thinking that you should probably tell Cora in person. About the Peter thing. You can invite her over here and Aussie and I will get out of your hair for a bit.” He looked at Derek.

“No,” Derek said, “You should stay…if you want.”

Stiles looked at him for a long moment, eyes searching, and then he smiled, digging back into his pancakes. “Okay,” he said.

Derek pulled his phone out and sent a text to Cora.

_Can you come over today? We have a lead. -D_

_To Stiles’s, I mean. -D_

Cora texted him back as he was cleaning up the dishes and Stiles was cleaning up Austin.

_Like 1hr?_

_BTW you don’t have to sign your texts_

_I have you in my contacts_

_You know, cause you’re my brother_

Derek rolled his eyes, but called over to Stiles, “Is it okay if she comes over in like an hour?”

“Yeah. Whenever’s fine. You sure you don’t want us to give you space?”

Derek finished drying his hands and went over to join Stiles and Austin on the floor of the living room. “It’s…it’s easier to deal with this when you’re here,” Derek found himself admitting, “I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because you should have been a cop.” He smiled.

Stiles looked surprised, but smiled back. “You sound like my dad,” he said, watching Austin crawl across the floor towards his box of toys.

_Whenever is fine. -D_

He pressed send and then watched Aussie carry a book over to Stiles, still looking a little wobbly first thing in the morning.

“ _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ ,” Stiles observed, pulling him into his lap, “Good choice.”

Austin reached out and made a grabby hand at Derek. “Dada,” he said. Derek grinned and scooted closer, so he was flush against Stiles’s side and Austin could have both of them within arm’s reach at all times.

“Separation anxiety,” Stiles laughed, shaking his head, “Gets you every time.”

 

***

 

By the time Cora came over, Stiles’ voice had gotten pretty tired from reading, and Derek was taking over the duty of reading _Brown Bear_ for the third time. Stiles shifted Austin into Derek’s lap when the doorbell rang and then reappeared with Cora at his shoulder, giggling as Derek finished the book.

“Oh, don’t stop on account of me,” she told him, smirking. “This is too cute.”

“Right?” Stiles agreed, grinning. “Alright, Aussie-Roo, time to give Derek a break.”

Derek set him on the floor and dug through his toy box for his favorite sensory toy, which would keep him amused for a while.”

“I guess things have been going well here,” Cora observed. “You said you have a lead.”

Derek took a deep breath and pulled himself up onto the sofa. “I saw Kate yesterday.” Cora immediately looked worried. “It’s fine,” he assured her, “She didn’t do anything, she just talked to me –“

“Derek, you have a restraining order.”

“I know,” he frowned, leaning forwards so that his elbows rested on his knees. Cora and Stiles sat down on either side of him. “But she was asking about this necklace that she dropped when – that she dropped. I think Peter has it.”

Cora looked confused. “Why would Peter have it?” she asked.

Derek explained, with help from Stiles, their adventures the night before. Cora nodded when he told her about the spiral.

“Definitely him, then,” she said, “But why did he go back to look for it? He’s such a creep.”

“What does the spiral mean?” Stiles asked.

“Revenge,” Derek and Cora said at the same time. “That’s definitely Peter’s thing,” Cora explained, “Our parents used to be really good at reeling him in, but since the fire –“ she looked at Derek and then looked away.

“He went a little crazy,” Derek continued, stony faced, “He’s mostly functional, but definitely crazy.” Cora nodded.

“I guess we’ll have to go any talk to him, then,” Cora made a face, “We should go together. I haven’t talked to him in person in – I don’t even know how long.”

Derek snorted. “Count yourself lucky,” he said, and then glanced at Stiles. “Would you – “ he started, feeling awkward. He had no idea how he had come to rely so heavily on Stiles for everything.

“If you want me to,” Stiles nodded.

Cora looked between them, eyes narrow, and then said, “Hey Stiles, do you think I could have some water or something?”

Stiles looked mildly surprised, but nodded and stood up from the couch, scooping Austin up as he went. “Sure thing.”

Derek glared at Cora as Stiles went into the other room, as if to say _really?_ , but Cora was already moving on.

“Oh my god, Derek! What is going on with you two?” she hissed.

He was preparing himself to get defensive, but instead he melted. “I don’t know,” he whispered back, “Things are just way easier when – “

“When he’s around?” Cora asked with a mischievous glint in her eye, “Hm sounds like somebody’s in _love_.”

He glanced over his shoulder quickly and then looked back at her. “I am not. Shut up,” he whisper shouted.

“You _so_ are,” she teased gleefully, “You _like-like_ him!”

“What are you, ten? I just – I’m used to being around him now, that’s all,” he growled, “Which, by the way, is _your_ fault.”

She shook her head still grinning, as Stiles came noisily back into the room and set a glass of water down before her, and set Austin back on the floor.

“We should go tomorrow,” Derek said, “He’ll be in the office then.”

Stiles frowned. “I have to be in the office tomorrow too.”

Cora lifted an eyebrow at Derek, but didn’t say anything, so Derek just said, “We’ll meet you there.”

Stiles looked skeptical, but Austin toddled over and made grabby hands at Derek, saying “Dada”, and Cora cackled with laughter.

 

***

 

Lydia, Kira, and Scott all came over for dinner that night. Stiles had started a lasagna, which Derek had finished as they had arrived. For once, Stile was pleased to note that the conversation was not focused on Derek’s quest for justice. Unfortunately, this was at the cost of discussing Heather’s wedding. Again.

“You _have_ to look good,” Lydia insisted, “Just let me take you shopping.”

“I already know which suit I’m wearing,” he told her for what must have been the hundredth time. “Look, can we stop talking about this.”

“Yeah, bro,” Scott agreed quickly, and Stiles sent him a grateful smile, “Wasn’t there something you wanted to talk to Derek about anyways, Lydia?”

“Oh!” Lydia’s lazer-focus snapped over to Derek. Stiles watched her purse her lips and knew she was a bit nervous. She had run this by him a few days ago, and he knew that it was a good idea, but for her, this was putting herself out there more than she ever had with someone new. “Um,” _um_ was never good. “So I was thinking about starting a foundation to protect and advise models and provide mental health support to people in the industry. Maybe artists too, you know? I was wondering…do you think you might be interested in helping me?” She said it all a little quickly and breathlessly. Derek looked a little like a deer in the headlights, so she continued. “You don’t have to obviously, or you can think about it, I just – “

“Yeah,” Derek said, after a thoughtful pause, “Yeah, I think I want to help. That sounds like a really great idea.”

Lydia glowed, and Stiles grinned at Derek with total abandon.

 

***

 

By the time the others had left and Stiles had put Austin to bed, the elation of Lydia and Derek’s projected project had faded, and with it the realization that Heather’s wedding was only about two weeks away came back full force. He stood in the shadowy doorway of Austin’s room, listening to the comforting sounds of his baby boy snoring in his crib.

He was lucky to have Austin, and he never forgot that. He had liked Heather, but he never really regretted the break up as much as he thought he should. He would say that they were still friends if they ever talked, but they didn’t. In the first few months, Stiles had sent her pictures of Austin, until Melissa had calmly taken the phone from his hands one evening, shaking her head, and said. “Honey, no. No mother wants to see the baby she’s missing out on.” Stiles broke down crying in her arms, thinking of his own mother. But it wasn’t the thought of Heather in particular that bothered him so much, it was the absence. There was nothing to regret, nobody to think about or wish for, except maybe…

“Stiles?”

He wiped his face quickly, and turned around to see Derek looking soft and concerned in sweatpants and a worn out t-shirt. Apparently he hadn’t done a very good job of masking his feelings, because Derek was at his side in a second. “Is everything okay?” he asked quickly, in a hushed tone. “Is Austin okay?”

Stiles nodded, his throat still feeling thick. “Yeah,” he croaked, “No, everything’s fine, I’m just…” Lonely. It was pathetic, really, he thought. With the most amazing kid in the world and an incredibly loyal and loving network of family and friends. He shouldn’t have anything to complain about.

“Are _you_ okay?” Derek asked carefully.

Stiles nodded, despite wanting to cling to Derek and start sobbing again. He took a deep breath. “You’re not going to bed, are you?” he asked, despite the fact that they were both in pajamas with brushed teeth.

“I don’t have to,” Derek said, “…You want to watch Netflix or something.”

“Yeah,” Stiles smiled, “My room?”

Derek nodded and followed Stiles into his room, where he grabbed his computer and put on one of the Batman cartoons to let it run through. Eventually, he felt himself drifting off. Derek seemed to be have watching the show, but still mostly awake, so he murmured, “Thank you”, before he could fall all the way asleep.


	14. #madeyalook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter. Enough said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for some Peter in this chapter! I hope his reveal is appropriately dramatic - he's kind of a drama queen...  
> Enjoy :)

Stiles was working his way through a backlog of emails when Danny looked up suddenly and grinned. “Your boyfriend’s here,” he said, looking over Stiles’s shoulder.

“I don’t have a –“ he looked over his shoulder. “Hey, Derek! Hey Cora!” He whipped around to narrow his eyes at Danny and give him the finger.

“Hey,” Derek said, “We dropped Austin off with Melissa. I don’t – I mean, you don’t want him anywhere near Peter.”

Danny rose his eyebrows, so Stiles started to introduce the Hale siblings, but Danny waved a hand. “Yeah, I know them. Nice to see you guys.”

“ _Anyways,_ ” Stiles snorted, “Danny, is it cool if I head out for a bit? We’ve got some business to take care of, but I’ll be back before you leave.”

“Yeah, do whatever,” Danny smirked, going back to work, “Let me know if you need me to cover anything for you.”

“Thanks, man.” Stiles signed off of his computer quickly and then grabbed his coat as he stood. “You guys didn’t have to park, you know,” he said, “I could have just met you out front.”

“Peter’s on the top floor,” Derek said, without expression. Cora smirked at him teasingly.

“Peter works _here_?” Stiles asked, mouth gaping open, “Your creepy Uncle Peter –“

“Owns the agency,” Cora finished for him, “Chop chop, we don’t have all day.”

Danny snorted behind them. “I’m having words with you later, Mahealani,” Stiles shot over his shoulder at him as he followed Derek and Cora to the elevator, “ _Words._ ”

They were kind of quiet in the elevator. Cora didn’t like to show it, but he could tell she was nervous. So was Derek, but that hardly surprised Stiles. He was constantly amazed at how easy it had gotten to read him.

They stepped out of the elevator to a lobby with another receptionist. Stiles had been on this floor all of once, and that was when he had first been hired. Mostly he sent Danny up to deal with the big bosses and Danny sent Stiles out to deal with the important designers, purely out of preference.

Stiles pulled Derek aside as Cora went to announce their arrival to the receptionist. “Everything okay?” he asked.

Derek stared at him for a minute and then nodded. “I’m fine,” he said, if only a little more convincing than he had been in the elevator.

“Okay,” Stiles smiled, “I’m here for you though. Anything I need to know about this guy?”

Derek lifted an eyebrow. “About Peter?” he thought for a minute. “He like to play with his food before he eats it,” he said, and then followed Cora and the receptionist to the far door.

“That’s not disturbing at all,” Stiles muttered, and then followed them.

The hallway past the lobby was lined with windowed offices, full of massive desks, cushy chairs, and people talking on phones. The receptionist led them to one end, where the biggest, cushiest office was located and opened the door for them

“Mr. Hale, your niece and nephew,” she said, and then clicked her way back down the hall in tall heels.

Derek, Cora, and Stiles stepped into the office. Stiles hung back a little, and Derek and Cora crossed their arms simultaneously. Stiles tried not to laugh at the identical bitch-face. On the other side of the office, a chair with a tall back was turned away from them, but as Stiles watched, it swung slowly around.

Peter Hale leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, wearing a smile that made him look very much like the cat who caught the canary.

“Well, well, well,” he said, “If it isn’t my own flesh and blood.” He grinned, showing all of his teeth. “Please, have a seat.”

Nobody moved, but Peter continued to smile.  “Or don’t. What do I care?” He sighed, “I guess it’s safe to assume that you’re not just here to catch up with your favorite uncle?”

“Do you have Kate’s necklace?” Derek gritted out.

Peter looked at Derek curiously. “Now why would I have that?”

“We saw the spiral in the tunnel,” Stiles put in, unable to keep quiet, “You were there recently, weren’t you?”

Peter’s eyes drifted over to him and he looked at him with great interest. “Stiles Stilinski,” he said slowly, “You work for my company, yet somehow this is the first I’ve seen of you…”

“I get Danny to do my dirty work for me,” Stiles shot back, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Peter looking him over blatantly and then glanced at Derek, whose eyebrows were knitted closely together. “Not all of it, I see.”

“Peter,” Derek snapped, “Do you have the necklace?”

Peter sighed as if Derek just _didn’t understand him_. He fiddled with one of the drawers in his desk and drew it open. He lifted a long silver necklace with a large, uneven pendant and dropped it onto his desk. “This one?” he asked.

Cora looked at Derek and he stepped forwards hesitantly. He reached out, but didn’t touch the necklace. “Yeah,” he said, and turned away. Stiles caught Peter rolling his eyes, but was paying more attention to Derek, who was looking as shaken as he had when he came home the day he had seen Kate. Wait. The day that he had come back to _Stiles’s house._ Their eyes met, and Derek exhaled heavily through his nose. Stiles moved to stand next to Derek and nudged him comfortingly.

“You haven’t given it to the police as evidence yet?” Cora demanded.

“It’s not that simple,” Peter said, “I needed more proof. Proof that she was trying to find it, which I now have.” He rolled his eyes over to Derek, whose back was still turned. “You’ll testify?” he asked.

Derek turned and nodded haltingly.

“Then I’ll bring it to the police. Today.”

 

***

 

“It can’t have been that easy,” Cora said over dinner later.

Derek frowned at his chicken, but Stiles cut in quickly. “I’ll hear the second he does it. I have eyes and ears in every station in the county.” He winked at Derek, who found himself smile slightly.

“Yeah,” Cora snorted, “But you don’t know Peter. Anyways, he said he was going to go today and it’s already dinner time.”

“Why wouldn’t he, though?” Stiles pushed, “He lost just as much as you guys.”

“Peter’s always been in it for himself,” Derek explained quietly, watching Austin smear food around his face instead of looking at Cora or Stiles. “If anything, the fire made him more ruthless."

The doorbell rang, just as Stiles opened his mouth, and he darted out of his chair. Derek watched him disappear towards the front door, until Cora interrupted his thoughts.

“I can’t believe how gone on him you are,” she said, smirking.

“What? I’m not –“

“You are,” she grinned, “But he’s in love with you too, so don’t worry about that.”

“Cora – “

“What I don’t get it why you don’t just kiss already.” She sounded exasperated but fond. Derek frowned. He didn’t know if she was trying to get him back for thinking that she and Stiles had been dating, but – but maybe she was right? He knew that Stiles was far more important to him than was entirely reasonable for the amount of time that they had _actually_ known each other, but…maybe that was how he knew that Stiles was more than just a friend to him.

“There it is,” Cora said, watching his expression as it changed. “Thanks for catching up.”

He stared at her in horror. “I like Stiles,” he whispered, “Shit. Cora, what do I do?”

“I _just_ told you,” she rolled her eyed, but then Stiles walked in, followed by Danny.

“Danny’s got some news!” Stiles announced.

“I just dropped the necklace off with the sheriff’s department five minutes ago,” Danny announced, with his charming smile.

“Let me grab a plate for you,” Stiles told him, and Danny took the empty seat at the table.

“You did?” Derek raised an eyebrow, momentarily diverted.

“Peter sent me,” Danny shrugged. “I was at his apartment anyway – “

“You were at his apartment?” Cora asked.

Danny shrugged again, with his unflappable smile. “Anyways, the deputy told me that the evidence should be processed by tomorrow at the latest, and then they can get a warrant for Kate’s arrest.”

That struck Derek more than anything they had talked about that day. “You okay?” Stiles asked, as he came back in, setting a plate of food in front of Danny and placing a hand on Derek’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” he said, somehow surprising himself with the truth of it. “I’m fine.”


	15. #tightywhities #allmonkeybusiness #byebyepants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate goes on trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for the very incorrect legal language/court proceedings. I have no idea what that actually looks like, but at least I kept it short?  
> Anyways, happy new year to everyone! And happy wolf moon too ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

Stiles was tapping his pen furiously against his desk, chewing his thumbnail as he stared distractedly at his computer screen. Danny passive-aggressively dropped a pile of modeling files loudly onto his own desk and shot him a death glare.

Stiles dropped the pen and forced himself to sit still. “Sorry,” he said, sheepishly.

“Why don’t you just leave early?” he asked, “You could catch the end of the trial.”

“I’ve taken too much time off the past few weeks. I need to get this done. Also, I’m not allowed to leave early until future notice.” He grimaced, but pulled closer to the desk, leg bouncing up and down as he picked up his pen and began to tap it subconsciously against his lips as he read.

Danny narrowed his eyes as he tried to get back to his own work. Stiles’s desk was literally shaking, causing Danny’s desk to shake as well. Stiles watched out of the corner of his eye as Danny typed furiously into his phone, and then glared at it for a few seconds before getting a reply. Stiles moved his eyes back to his screen, skimming through another resume, and trying his hardest to keep still. Derek and Cora were at the courthouse now. Within the next few hours, they would hear the outcome of Kate’s trial. Stiles wanted so badly to be there for Derek, and if his job weren’t on the line, he would just leave. As it was, it was a tough call. A minute or two later, the notification for an email came up. It was from Peter Hale’s secretary, who usually emailed everything from the higher-ups.

“What did you do?” he asked Danny, after reading the email.

“Huh?” Danny seemed very engrossed in his work now, but Stiles wasn’t fooled.

“I just got an email from Peter’s secretary giving me permission to leave early,” he said.

“That’s nice. You better leave now if you want to catch the end of the trial,” Danny replied coolly, still typing away.

Stiles spared a glance at the clock at the bottom of his screen. Danny was right. “Fine, but don’t think we’re not talking about this later,” he told him, logging off of his computer and grabbing his coat.

“We’re _not_ talking about this later,” he heard Danny mutter, but he was already on his way out the door.

 

***

 

Derek wished that Stiles were there. He sat at the back of the courtroom, holding hands with Cora, while Peter sat spaced a little apart from them. All of the feelings from when he was sixteen and terrified were coming back. He took a deep breath and felt Cora squeeze his hand. The jury were still out, but it was only a matter of time, and Derek wasn’t sure he could move from his seat. The courtroom door swung open. Derek continued to stare straight ahead in case it was Kate. Cora elbowed him in the side, and he glanced at her, seeing a huge smile on her lips and a small one on Peter’s, although he had spent a good amount of the last fifteen minutes on his phone, and was currently typing out another text. He didn’t have time to worry before a warm body was sliding onto the bench next to him, and he was met with Stiles’s comforting smile. God, how could he have been so stupid? He smiled back. He was head over heels and he hadn’t even realized it. But now, _now_ it was painfully obvious to him, and probably everyone else, if Cora’s grin was anything to go by…although it seemed much softer this time. Derek remembered that Stiles had become one of her best friends since coming back to Beacon Hills, and suddenly their relationship made him much happier.

“I thought you had to work all day,” Derek said to Stiles.

He shrugged, still smiling. “Got out early,” he said easily, “I didn’t miss anything important, did I?”

“They should be back with the decision soon,” Cora said.

“How are you holding up?” Stiles asked Derek in a low voice.

“Better now,” the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

Stiles grinned. “Me too,” he confessed. “I think I was driving Danny crazy.”

Cora, who was shamelessly eavesdropping, glanced at Peter, but before she could start accusing him of anything and everything, the door opened on the far side of the courtroom, and the jury filed back in. As they got settled, the room began to fill up again, Stiles distracting Derek and Cora tactfully as Kate came back into the room. The judge called for quiet and a hush fell over the room.

“How does the jury find Katherine Argent?” she asked.

Derek wasn’t sure anyone in the room was breathing. He certainly wasn’t. Stile’s hand found his.

A petite woman with a pink bob leaned forwards in the jurors’ stand. “The jury find Ms. Argent guilty on all counts.”

A cacophony of noise exploded throughout the courthouse, but Derek found himself frozen in shock. It was over. Everything passed in a blur, and in what felt like no time at all, Stiles and Cora were dragging him out of the courthouse into the fresh air and the golden color of the setting sun.

“It’s over,” Derek said, feeling a smile start to cross his face. Cora hugged him tightly.

“Drinks?” She asked, excitedly, “We need to celebrate!”

“Yes!” Stiles agreed, “Derek?”

Derek nodded and then shook his head. “We should celebrate, but – can we do it at home? Pick up Aussie and invite everyone over?”

Stile’s smile lit up again. “Of course! That’s perfect!”

 

***

 

Everyone was in high spirits. Stiles had picked Melissa up along with Austin, and Scott, Kira, and Malia had shown up just about the second he pulled into the driveway. Lydia was next with Parrish and Braeden, shortly followed by Stiles’s dad. Mason and Danny showed up, bringing with them Corey and Scott’s assistant, Liam, who was also Mason’s best friend. Nearly everyone brought food and/or alcohol, and Stiles barely had to spend any time in the kitchen. Austin was passed around and coddled and loved, and Stiles was happy to see Derek looking perfectly at home, very much relieved, and very happy.

“Having a good time?” Stiles asked, sidling up to him

“Yeah,” Derek sighed, “Thanks for…everything…”

One word covered so much feeling and so many things that had happened, but Stiles got it. He nudged Derek’s shoulder with his own and smiled sideways at him. “No problem, dude. You’re part of the family now.”

“Thanks for that too,” he said quietly, glancing at Stiles, who felt his heart skip a beat.

“Who would have thought we would ever get here?” Stiles sighed, “You used to hate me.”

“I…hated what I thought was the idea of you,” Derek admitted. “But nobody would let me, so…I guess it’s thanks to everyone."

“Well, I’m glad,” Stiles grinned. He got the feeling like Derek was about to say something important when Malia came over, holding Austin.

“Your baby just shat it my lap,” she told him.

Stiles burst out laughing as he relieved her of his son. “That’s what diapers are for.”

“It was warm!” she complained, “And it smells!”

Stiles shook his head, starting towards the laundry room, calling over his shoulder, “Be right back!”

It was past midnight before most people left. Austin had actually fallen asleep in his dad’s arms, and before Stiles could whisk him away to his crib, his dad was already halfway up the stairs. Derek had given over the guest room to Noah and Melissa, and Scott and Kira were zonked out on the couch, Malia curled up fast asleep in the armchair. Stiles brought down two sleeping bags and then went into the kitchen, where Lydia and Cora were still up, talking to Derek. Everything had the reverent hush that came with the early hours of the morning, harsh in contrast to the noise of a house full of people.

“I was going to offer Scott and Kira my bed, but they’re already asleep,” Stiles said, sliding onto the counter. “You and Cora want it?”

Derek shook his head. “You should sleep in your own bed.”

“Seriously, dude – “

“Stiles.”

“Fine. Lydia? Throwback?” He wiggled his eyebrows, aware that it was decidedly not cute when he did it.

Lydia spared a glance at Cora, who smirked. “You kick,” she said, “I’ll take the sleeping bag.”

“I’m going to take Lydia’s word for it,” Cora agreed, “Looks like you’re stuck with bruised shins, Der.”

Derek glared at her. Hard.

Stiles’s jaw dropped. “Rude!” he objected. “You could at least let me down nicely!” He looked at Derek for back up.

“Uh…” Derek said, smiling abruptly, which made Stiles’s heart do all kinds of weird things. “It’s not you, it’s me. You can do better. I just think we need some space for a while…” Stiles snorted in effort not to laugh too loudly. Lydia and Cora weren’t doing much better. “I’m trying to find myself. I’m seeing someone else…his name is sleeping bag.”

Stiles gasped in laughter. “Jackass,” he wheezed, “Oh my god. We’re going to wake everyone up. Who knew you were funny?”

Derek was grinning at him, and Stiles, tears rolling down his face, clutching at his stomach, felt like they were the only ones in the room.

“Please don’t cry,” Derek continued, smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “We can still be friends.”

“Oh dear god,” Lydia breathed, tilting her face upwards like it would make the tears roll back into her eyes. “Please stop.”

Stiles slid off of the counter, wiping his face, and exhaling hard. “Wow, okay. I think I’m delirious. I’m going to bed.” He kissed Lydia and Cora on the top of their heads and froze as he came level with Derek. “Night ladies. You know where everything is, Lyds, feel free to help yourselves. Just, for the love of all that is holy, don’t wake Austin up.”

“Night Stiles,” they chorused.

He looked at Derek. “I guess I’ll see you in a bit?”

Derek’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah.”

“Don’t let them get into too much trouble,” Stiles winked, and pulled himself towards the stairs before he could embarrass himself further.

He could hear the muted sound of their voices in the kitchen as he did the bare minimum to get ready for bed. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the picture it created in his head made him smile. He had just dragged on a soft shirt and pair of sleep pants after checking on Austin, when Derek appeared in the doorway.

“Is it still okay if –“ he started quietly.

“Yeah, of course,” Stiles whispered.

Derek nodded and came further into the room. Stiles didn’t notice him peeling off his shirt until he was sitting in bed, and Derek was standing shirtless, already working at his pants.

“Oh,” Stiles felt himself say. Derek looked up quickly, and Stiles blushed hard, trying not to stare too much. “Do you, uh, want to borrow some clothes? I guess you can’t really get in your room….”

“It’s fine,” Derek said, shucking his jeans, “I usually sleep like this.”

It was not fine. Stiles…wasn’t sure he could breathe. The boxer-briefs left nothing to the imagination, and they definitely didn’t need to.

“Is that okay?” Derek asked.

“Yep,” Stiles squeaked.

Derek crawled in the other side of the bed, and Stiles rolled over to turn the light off, when he came back, Derek was lying on his side facing him.

“Hi,” Stiles whispered.

“Hi,” Derek whispered back.

“I don’t actually kick that much…”

“I figured.” He could see Derek smile in the shadows.

“Lydia and Cora didn’t gang up on you, did they?” he asked.

“What do you think?”

“Yeah, okay. Dumb question.”

The silence was soft and comfortable in the darkness.

“Derek?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you.”

“………me too.”

Stiles reached out and gave him the most awkward lying-down-on-their-sides hug ever.

“Goodnight Derek,” he whispered as he pulled back.

“Night Stiles.”


	16. #identitycrisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek moves out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's kind of a bit of angst in this one, so...enjoy!

Derek woke up to the smell of bacon. Sunlight peeped through the cracks in the curtains, not as much as it did in his own room, but not so completely black, like it got in his apartment. The bed shifted, and he cracked his eyes open to see Stiles blinking at him.

“Morning,” Stiles smiled softly. Derek was in awe of that softness. He wished he could wake up to it every day.

“Morning,” he replied, feeling it come out much more mumbled and sleep-softened than he had expected.

“Did I kick you?” Stiles asked slowly, stretching his arms over his head.

Derek swallowed. “Nah. Lydia’s a liar,” he said. Lydia knew very well that Stiles didn’t kick people in his sleep, and she told him so as soon as Stiles had gone upstairs. In fact, she and Cora seemed to have had the whole thing planned out.

“Knew it,” Stiles grinned, wiggling around a bit to get comfortable again.

Derek couldn’t even be mad.

“Dad’s cooking bacon,” Stiles said after a minute.

Derek hummed in response. “Should probably check on Austin.”

“I love you,” Stiles sighed. Derek froze, heart beating wildly. Stile’s eyes flew open again, and he said quickly, “I love that you think of that. I mean. Of Austin…uh…yeah.”

He rolled over and got out of bed, hair sleep tousled, and pants riding low on his hips. “I’m gonna go check on him.” He almost made it out of the room before he turned back to Derek, who was just sitting up, and said, “Scott eats the bacon pretty much straight off the pan, so you might want to get down there quick or it’ll be gone…you can borrow some sweatpants if you want.” He winked and then disappeared through the door towards Austin’s nursery.

Derek shook his head at the whirlwind that was Stiles, and pulled himself out of bed. He found a pair of grey sweatpants in the dresser, and a blue and orange striped shirt in the next drawer. By the time he got downstairs, most of the house was awake and sitting around the table. Noah was washing out the pan that he had used for the bacon, which seemed to be mostly gone. Scott was sitting in Kira’s lap with a huge plate of food in front of him. Malia and Melissa were still missing, but Stiles was sitting between Cora and Lydia, Austin on his lap chewing on his shirt, showing everyone something on his phone. Derek frowned at the lack of empty chairs next to Stiles, but Cora moved down a seat and Stiles looked up, pushing a plate towards him.

“Saved some for you,” he said, smiling, “You got lucky, I think Scott burned his tongue."

“Hey!” Scott protested.

“That’s what you get for taking it off of the pan and putting it straight into your mouth, son,” Stiles’s dad smiled from the sink.

Scott deflated a little, and Kira rubbed his back.

“Hey, have you seen this?” Stiles shoved his phone in front of Derek as he sat down. “I posted that picture of you and Austin together and people went _nuts_!”

He looked so proud, and Derek, scrolling through the comments as he chewed on a piece of the world’s best bacon, had to agree. “Of course they did,” he smiled at Stiles handing the phone back, “This is the best bacon I’ve ever had, by the way,” he announced.

“Stilinski family recipe,” Stiles and his dad said together. Stiles gave his dad finger guns.

“So, Derek,” Lydia said sweetly, while Scott reached out to try and sneak some of his bacon. Derek pulled his plate away. “How’d you sleep?”

“Dude, you already ate like a pound of bacon,” Stiles admonished.

Derek couldn’t help but smile. “Great,” he said. Lydia and Cora rolled their eyes.

 

***

 

Derek looked uncomfortable. It had gotten pretty late into the day and everyone had left. “What’s up, dude?” Stiles asked him, bouncing Austin on his knees.

Derek shifted uneasily. “Just…” he started, “Kate’s gone, so…I guess I should…” _Oh_. He wanted to move out. Stiles was surprisingly disappointed, but it made sense. It had been a while now since Derek had even set foot in his own apartment.

“Yeah,” Stiles tried not to cringe at the disappointment in his voice. “I can help you get your stuff back to your apartment if you want…”

Derek tensed, face unreadable, even to Stiles. “It’s fine,” he said evenly, “I didn’t bring much. I can probably get it.”

Stiles frowned, but followed Derek upstairs. “You should stay for dinner, though,” he practically pleaded. “I can’t imagine you have a ton of groceries.”

Derek’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Yeah, okay.”

Austin sat on the floor of the kitchen, playing with a toy cow that said _moo_ whenever it was squeezed, and was covered in multiple different textures. Mostly, he was chewing on its ears. Stiles cooked dinner and tried not to think about Derek upstairs, packing. Occasionally he would come downstairs, hunting for something that had strayed into the living room or kitchen, but each time he did, he would determinedly not look into the kitchen. The smell of the pasta was almost too much. Stiles’s throat felt thick, and his stomach was uneasy. It shouldn’t have been such a big deal, Derek going back home, but it was.

Dinner was quiet and a little awkward. They took their time cleaning up, still not really speaking. It was like they didn’t dare say a word to risk making things more difficult, but they still stretched their time together out as long as possible. In the blink of an eye, Derek’s things were by the front door, and it was almost time to give Austin his nightly bottle. They slowly made their way to the door, Austin balanced on Stiles’s hip, eyes fixed on Derek.

“Um…thanks again,” Derek said, his voice sounding rough.

“Seriously dude, don’t be a stranger. You’re always welcome here,” Stiles tried not to sound too much like he was begging him to stay.

“Thanks,” Derek smiled softly, picking up his bags, “I’ll see you soon, I guess?”

Stiles nodded, biting his lip. Before he could change his mind, he darted forward, wrapping Derek in a hug with Austin snuggled between them. He heard a soft thud as the bags hit the ground, and felt Derek pull him in closer. Stiles felt his eyes burn and blinked quickly.

By the time they broke apart again, Stiles had himself mostly under control and gave Derek what he felt was a brave smile. “Let me know when you get home?”

“Yeah,” Derek nodded, picking his bags up again, he seemed indecisive for a minute, but then stepped out of the door. “Goodnight, Stiles.”

“Night Derek.”

Stiles watched him from his door until he disappeared completely, and then took Austin upstairs. He gave him his bottle and read to him and rocked him, and it still took a ridiculously long time to get him to sleep. He crept back downstairs when Austin was finally making his adorable little baby snores, saw the empty house, and broke down. It made no sense. He would still see Derek all the time, but…he was alone again. No, it wasn’t just that. He thought about his speed dial. One – his dad – gave great advice, but _this_ …they didn’t really talk about things like this. Two – Scott – he loved him like a brother, but he was in a disgustingly happy relationship and just couldn’t relate. He pulled out his phone and pressed three.

By the time Lydia got there, Stiles had properly worked himself up. She closed the front door softly and sank down next to him in front of the couch, rubbing his back and pulling her designer heels off of her feet, making comforting noises.

“You want to talk about it?” she asked gently.

“I think I love him,” Stiles gasped, and fell into her shoulder.

 

***

 

When Derek got back to his apartment, he was spectacularly underwhelmed, surprised at how much he hadn’t missed it. Sure, all of his books, his soft blankets, his workout gear were there, but something was off. It didn’t feel quite like home anymore. Home wasn’t monochromatic and sparsely furnished. It was supposed to be warm, to have people coming and going, mis-matched, hand-me-down furniture, and fresh flowers that wilted and nobody ever bothered to replace. It was supposed to have Stiles and Austin.

That week, he threw himself into work, spending time at the gym nearly every day, joking with Stiles every time he saw him, and then feeling like a piece of duct tape had been ripped ruthlessly off of his skin the moment he was gone. He went to photoshoots and started gearing up for the Gucci show later in the week. Lydia was in the show as well, and, whether Stiles showed up or not, (Derek got the feeling that he really tried to but was being pulled a thousand different ways by the agency – a theory that Lydia confirmed), he and Lydia would have lunch together just about every day.

“Hey,” she said, while they were in fitting on Thursday. Mason was there instead of Stiles, and Derek was trying not to be disappointed. “If I promise not to say anything to anyone, would you answer a question entirely honestly for me?”

“I guess?” Derek shrugged. It was a testament to how far he had come with these people that he now implicitly trusted Lydia.

“How do you feel about Stiles?” she asked frankly, not putting words in his mouth, but leaving him to answer.

Derek glanced around, but nobody seemed to be listening, all bustling around with their very important jobs. “You know that,” he said.

“I don’t know anything about it,” she said loftily, smoothing her dress. “Because you’ve never said anything.”

“Uh,” she had a point, as always, but now Derek was stuck with saying it out loud.

She glanced at him out of the corner of he eye. “I won’t say anything to anyone,” she promised again, more gently.

“I love him,” Derek said, almost a whisper, “I miss him. Austin too. I just…I miss them.”

Lydia nodded, smiling. “Then I have a favor to ask.”

 

***

 

“Lydia, it’s less than a week away!” Stiles said desperately, “Please!”

“Stiles, it’s fine – “

“It’s not! I can’t show up alone to Heather’s wedding!” he sat down on the edge of the sandbox and put his head in his hands.

“If you would just listen to me then you wouldn’t have to get so upset,” Lydia snapped.

Austin looked up at them with big, concerned eyes, so Stiles smiled and helped him scoop more sand into the little bucket. “Alright,” he sighed, “What is your amazing solution?”

“I found someone else to go with you,” she said simply.

He snorted. “I’m not taking Scott.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t _mean_ Scott.”

“Then who –“

“Derek, sweetie, you’re taking Derek,” she sighed.

“Lydia!” he nearly nocked over the bucket of sand, which Austin decided looked fun, resulting in him squealing loudly and smacking the bucket over.

“You’ll thank me later, I promise,” she said quickly, before sitting in the sand with Austin saying, “Now, Aussie, sweetie, that’s not very nice…”

Stiles was left to wonder what she meant.


	17. #strugglecity #commentwhowon #babygotswag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles, Derek, and Austin attend a wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...technically this is the last chapter! A fairly long epilogue will be up either a few minutes after this or tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled. Thank you so much for sticking with this crazy story all the way to the end - I don't know where I thought this was going, but it definitely wasn't here! I'm also thinking I probably need to change the plot summary...  
> Anyways, you're all the best! Thanks for the kudos/comments/love! I hope this ending (and the epilogue!) were worth it!  
> As always: enjoy!

Stiles was incredibly nervous. He went into the gym for his usual workout session with Derek, but he was kind of already sweating. Derek noticed before they had even finished the warm-up.

“What’s up?” he asked with a frown, the next time Stiles’s head bobbed into view for his sit up.

“Um,” Stiles curled back down to give himself a second to think, but he was facing Derek again too quickly, and reverted to his usual instinct, which was to just blurt things out, “My ex is getting married this weekend.” Down, up. “Do you want to come with me?”

Derek frowned slightly. “Did Lydia make you ask me?”

“I mean…it was her idea…but…” he collapsed onto his back, arms falling open, “Can we talk about this when I’m not doing abs?”

Derek looked around the gym, which was more crowded than usual, much to Parrish’s excitement. “Let’s take a water break. I don’t think anyone’s in the staff room.”

Derek was right, but suddenly being faced with just Derek in an empty room made him much more nervous. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t actually want you to come with me,” he said quickly, as the door shut, “But, you know Lydia’s, like, a genius, so…”

“You really want me to come?” Derek’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Yes, dude,” Stiles sighed, “That’s why I’m asking you…Aussie’s coming too.”

Derek was quiet for a minute, and Stiles tried to force himself to give him time to answer. “Okay,” he said, finally.

“Okay?” Stiles grinned, “Okay! Awesome! I can’t wait to show you off to everyone as my eye candy!” he teased.

“Well, we better get back to that workout, then,” Derek smiled. Stiles felt his breath catch and couldn’t help but grin in return.

“You two better not be having sex in here,” Braeden’s voice came as she pushed through the door. She smiled smugly at them, and Stiles stuck out his tongue while Derek rolled his eyes.

 

***

 

The vineyard where Heather’s wedding was taking place was only about an hour outside of Beacon Hills. According to Stiles, she lived on the east coast now, somewhere in the south, but most of her family was still in the area. “And that’s about all I know about that,” he had concluded.

Derek couldn’t stop looking at him, even just out of the corner of his eye. It was a daytime wedding, so he was dressed in a light grey suit with a white shirt and baby blue tie. It wasn’t that he never dressed well, he thought, but it always looked a bit like he had gotten dressed in a rush, which, to be fair, he probably had. To think that he had put so much time and effort into his appearance for this Heather girl made Derek a little sad, but the sight of Austin in his baby blue sweater with the little grey bow tie reminded him that this was a lot bigger than any jealousy he might have. Lydia had taken over dressing Derek, much to his disapproval (not that he could find fault with the Dolce & Gabbana suit that she had chosen), and the result, he was thankful to see, was not that he and Stiles matched exactly, but that they meshed perfectly, complimenting each other in ways that made Derek remember why fashion was his chosen artform. For him, at least, it mimicked real life.

Stiles extracted Austin from his very complicated car seat while Derek grabbed the diaper bag, slinging it over his shoulder and coming around the car to kiss a sleepy Austin on the head. “How are you doing, buddy?” he asked, glancing up for a second to see Stiles smiling softly at him. He felt himself blush. Austin stared at him and then snuggled into Stiles’s neck.

“Aw, Aussie-Roo,” Stiles chuckled, “You must have had a good nap in the car…hey Der, can you see if Syd’s in there?”

Derek rummaged through the bag as they started towards the entrance to the winery. He pulled a stuffed wombat that Scott had got Austin for his one-month-from-his-birth-day (apparently he had wanted to get a kangaroo, but the stuffed kangeroos looked dangerous, so he went with a wombat instead) and handed it to Stiles.

“You’re the best,” Stiles grinned, nuzzling the wombat into Austin’s neck, “Aussie-Roo, Sydney wants to play!”

Austin lifted his head, looking curiously at the stuffed animal and then took it in his pudgy hands.

“Okay,” Stiles breathed, “hopefully that will keep him distracted during the ceremony…where are we going?”

“This way, I think,” Derek gestured towards a set of open glass doors to the back of the building. Just outside the doors were trays of champagne, which Stiles downed a glass of, not bothering to look guilty at Derek’s judging expression. “You gonna be okay?” he asked.

“Totally fine,” Stiles grinned. He looked nervous.

Derek grabbed his free hand. “This okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Stiles practically squeaked.

Derek bit down on his smile, and they approached the ushers. “Stiles!” one of the guys said, “No way! I didn’t –“ the guy on their other side was glaring at him. “I mean, good to see you!”

“You too, man,” Stiles smiled humorlessly. Derek watched as the ushers’ eyes gravitated towards Austin.

“Let’s find our seats, babe,” he said, placing a hand on the small of Stiles’s back.

Stiles grinned at the flabbergasted expressions, and let Derek lead him away. “You don’t have to coddle me, you know,” Stiles said, shifting Austin on his hip. “I was planning on getting stared at a lot.”

“You shouldn’t have to be stared at just because you used to date the bride,” Derek said quietly, as they slipped into a row of chairs near the back and sat down.

“I had a baby with the bride,” Stiles argued, “And then kept the baby. All for myself.”

“Because she didn’t want him,” Derek added. He looked at Stiles. “Sorry. I shouldn’t –“

Stiles sighed. “It’s fine. If you want to…I mean, I’d rather have people staring at me for brining a supermodel as my date instead of for being the father of the bride’s illegitimate child.” He looked down at Austin. “Not that you aren’t legit, dude.”

Before Derek had a chance to respond, people were turning towards them, and a glance behind them announced the presence of the bridal party.

 

***

 

The wedding was nice, Stiles supposed. It was a little bit too formal and a little bit pretentious, and he didn’t really know anyone anymore, but Austin was mostly quiet until he started fussing to move into Derek’s lap, and Derek stayed by his side the whole time, occasionally whispering really salty things about the other guests that made Stiles snort unattractively and wonder just how many people had ever seen this side of him.

By the time that they had gotten through all of the speeches and were finally served dinner, Stiles was emotionally exhausted.

“The best man’s speech was terrible,” Derek muttered, as the brother of the groom passed the table. Stiles snorted into his third glass of champagne, certain that Kent had just heard them.

“Mine is going to be perfect. I’ve started writing it already,” Stiles assured him. “ _When I first met Scotty, we were four years old…_ ”

“Stiles!” he turned to see Heather in all her bridal glory, coming towards him. “I’m so glad you came! I wasn’t sure you would!”

He stood up to give her a hug and then stepped back, smiling. “Congratulations! Matt seems like a really cool guy. You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Oh stop!” she grinned, collapsing into the chair next to his. “Don’t look at my face to closely. My makeup’s all running together. It’s hot as balls! Hi, who are you?” She was looking past Stiles now at Derek.

“Oh!” Stiles leaned back so she could see him properly. “This is Derek Hale. Derek, this is Heather. Obviously.”

“Derek! So nice to meet you! Hey, haven’t I seen you somewhere? I know! Stiles’s blog! You dress like Austin!”

“I’m pretty sure Austin dresses like me, but yeah,” Derek reached out to shake her hand, holding Austin with the other one. He looked a little confused. Stiles got it. Exes weren’t usually this friendly, but their breakup hadn’t been too messy, and Heather was pretty much impossible not to get along with when you actually saw her in person.

“Oh, Austin,” she cooed, “Look how big you are! Can I hold him, Stiles?” she asked.

“You know you don’t have to ask,” Stiles assured her, “He just ate though, so be warned that he might spit up on your dress.”

“That’s fine,” she said brightly, as Derek passed Austin to Stiles, who passed him to Heather, “I already threw up on it before the ceremony.” She brought the hem of it up to eye-level so that they could see the discoloration. “Oh, Austin! Who is this friend you have?” He squirmed as she tried to touch his wombat, and clutched it more tightly.

“That’s Sydney,” Stiles explained, “He’s a wombat. Scott got it for him.”

“Oh, Scott! How is he? I’m so sorry he couldn’t come!”

“He’s good,” Stiles smiled, “Derek’s actually his personal trainer. Got me hooked as well.” He winked at Derek, who blushed slightly.

“Oh! You should come meet Matt! I mean, if you want,” she looked suddenly a little self-conscious, “I don’t _think_ it will be awkward.”

“Nah,” Stiles shrugged, “I’m just your baby daddy.”

Heather grinned and stood up carefully, still holding Austin. “Well, come on, then! You too, Derek!” She lead the way up to the main table, “I hope nobody’s been giving you a hard time.”

“It’s fine,” Stiles shrugged, and Derek slipped his hand back into Stiles’s silently, with the best poker face ever. Stiles grinned. “That’s what Derek’s here for.”

“You do have a fantastic grumpy-cat face,” she told him, “Matt! This is Austin, and his dad Stiles, and Stiles’s boyfriend Derek.”

“Uh-“ Stiles glanced at Derek, feeling like he should probably correct Heather, at least, but Derek was already shaking Matt’s hand, so Stiles followed suit. “Congratulations, man.”

“Thanks! Hey, Austin! Wow, he really looks like you,” Matt told Stiles.

“My family has strong genes,” he shrugged.

Matt glanced at Heather, who was cooing at Austin again. “Thanks for bringing him. I know it has to be awkward, but she was so excited about it.”

Stiles felt a little bad. “I mean,” he said uncomfortably, “She _is_ his mom…”

“I don’t blame you. She wasn’t even ready for kids when I met her. I’m not sure she is now, either, but…it’s nice for her to see him. Maybe we can get together every once in a while to catch up. If you want…I just like seeing her happy.” He looked at Heather with so much love that Stiles suddenly felt like the world had just dropped out from under him. It was hitting him again, with probably the worst possible timing, that he might never have that. Not with anyone.

“Yeah, that would be cool,” he looked away quickly to see Austin fussing in Heather’s arms again. Before he could intervene and rescue his son, Austin reached out his hands towards Derek, saying, “Dada.” Heather passed him to Derek, laughing, and Derek swooped him into his arms with a kiss. Stiles’s heart clenched.

“Hey, Der,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“He might need a diaper change.”

Derek felt his bottom and nodded. “Excuse us,” Stiles grimaced, and pulled Derek towards the restrooms.

“You good?” Derek muttered, as they left the crowded reception area.

“Yeah,” Stiles sighed, “I just needed to get out of there. Also, Aussie totally has the potty squirms.”

There was a single toilet family bathroom, so Stiles headed straight for that one instead of bothering with the men’s room. More often than not, those didn’t have changing tables. It was nice, as far as bathrooms went (Stiles could always appreciate a clean, well decorated public restroom), and the changing table looked totally sanitary. He took Austin from Derek and laid him on the table, quickly swapping out the wet diaper for a new one, and blowing a few raspberries on Austin’s tummy for the baby giggles. Derek was watching fondly, wrapping up the dirty diaper, and throwing it in the trash, when Stiles turned around. Stiles sighed heavily.

“What’s up?” Derek asked, eyebrows knitting together, ever concerned about Stiles’s well-being. “Is it Heather?”

“Nah,” he shrugged, hugging Austin tighter to him, “I just don’t really feel like going back out there…”

Stiles expected a half-hearted sound of commiseration before leaving the restroom, but instead Derek took a seat on the floor and patted the space next to him. Stiles sank gratefully against the wall, letting Austin rest contentedly against his chest.

“Want to talk about it?” Derek asked, with such openness that Stiles felt his eyes prick with wetness. Derek looked at him, and Stiles saw the moment that he started to backtrack. “Or not. You don’t have to…you know, unless you want to…”

“It’s stupid,” Stiles sighed, wiping his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter.” Derek was staring intently at him, “Tell me?”

He couldn’t help it. Being around Derek had become so easy that the words were falling out of his mouth before he could really think them through. “I just…sometimes I watch people, and it just hits me: what if I never find that? What if no one ever feels that way about me?” He looked away as Derek pulled back slightly. “Told you it was stupid,” he tried to laugh.

“Stiles,” Derek’s voice was very serious when he spoke, but the deep breath that he took was shaky, and his eyes were cast down. He glanced back up to meet Stiles’s eyes again before speaking. “ _I_ feel that way about you.”

Stiles gaped at him, head reeling. “What?” He asked smoothly.

“I – I don’t know how or when it started, but by the time I left your house, all I wanted was to come back. To you and Austin. I love being with you. I love helping you take care of him and play with him. I love visiting all of your friends and family and having them come over. I love Austin. And I love – I love you.”

Stiles could feel the tears sliding down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure if they were leftover sad tears or newfound happy tears, but Derek was cupping his face, wiping them away with his thumbs. He tried to find words, but for once he was at a loss. Austin didn’t seem to know what was going on, although he did have the end of Stiles’s tie in his mouth, which Stiles quickly took from him and tucked out of the way.

“Please say something,” Derek whispered, starting to look concerned. His thumbs had stopped moving.

“You idiot,” Stiles choked out, half crying, half laughing, “After everything we’ve been through, you think I don’t love you right back? I let my kid call you Dada!”

Derek frowned. “But –“

Stiles took his face between his hands and pulled him in for a long kiss. “Get it?” he breathed when they pulled apart.

“I think so,” Derek smiled, a full-blown, truly-happy smile. It was the best thing Stiles had ever seen. Derek pulled him into another, more playful kiss, and then got to his feet, holding out a hand to pull Stiles up and into his arms, Austin snuggled sleepily between them. “I love you,” Derek told Austin, kissing the top of his head. Austin snuggled into his chest.

Stiles grinned. “What do you say we blow this popsicle stand?”

“Only if you promise never to say it that way again,” Derek rolled his eyes fondly.

“How about _let’s go home_ ,” Stiles offered.

“Perfect.”


	18. Epilogue: #cheesin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles, Derek, and Austin attend another wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a whole lot of fluff to round it out ;)

“I feel like I’m gonna puke.”

“Do not puke. I swear to god, Scott,” Stiles warned, “If one more thing goes wrong –“

The door opened, and Derek stepped into Scott’s childhood bedroom in his suit pants and shirt sleeves, yellow tie already tied neatly. He was carrying Austin in his yellow pants and grey suspenders on his hip. “Hey, babe, I found the rings,” he handed a small velvet pouch to Stiles.

Scott stared at Stiles in horror. “You _lost_ the rings?!” he asked.

“I didn’t – dude, I put them down for a second! Derek had them the whole time!”

“ _Stiles_!” Scott complained, “At least make sure that they’re both there!” He turned back to the mirror and tried to put the perfect dimple in his tie with shaking hands.

Stiles’s dad came in to take Austin as Stiles weighed the bag in his hand. “Scott, I can feel them through the bag, they’re – wait…” There was something else. He opened the bag in confusion, emptying the its contents into his hand, totally unaware that his Dad, Derek, and Scott were all watching him now. “There are three. Scott, why are there three?”

Scott was grinning brightly, no longer looking nervous. “Ask Derek,” he said, practically bouncing with excitement.

Stiles felt his eyes slowly move to Derek, who was already bending down to one knee, a self-conscious smile on his lips. “Derek?” he breathed, “Why are there three?”

“I think you already know the answer to that,” he said, reaching out for Stiles’s hand, which he gave willingly. “Will you marry me?”

Stiles spared a glance for his dad, who was already crying, and Scott, who looked like he couldn’t be happier (although he would certainly top that in about an hour), and Austin, who was waving at him. He waved back and blew a kiss before turning back to Derek. “I think you know the answer to that,” he grinned dopily.

“Maybe you could say it anyways?” Derek asked, his tone was light, but Stiles could tell he was nervous, regardless of how many times they had already talked about getting married.

“Yes, Derek Hale,” he said, tugging Derek to his feet, “I will marry you.” Derek kissed him softly, but with intense emotion. He could hear Scott and his dad clapping and whistling, and Scott might have even howled like a wolf. Stiles almost dropped the rings, but Derek fished them out of his hand, putting Scott’s and Kira’s back in the bag, and slipping Stiles’s onto his finger.

“Hang on,” Stiles said, stepping away to find the jeans he had been wearing earlier. He glanced at Scott as he dug through the pockets. “I can’t believe you let him propose at your wedding.”

“It was his idea,” Derek admitted.

Scott shrugged. “Congratulations, bro.”

Stiles stopped to give him a fierce hug before returning to Derek to slip his ring on Derek’s finger. “You kept this in your pocket?” Derek asked after a kiss.

“Just in case,” Stiles grinned, kissing his fiancé again before going to receive congratulations from his father and son.

“Okay,” Scott said, when Noah had taken Austin away and the excitement had died down somewhat, “Now that I feel less like I’m going to puke, can one of you _please_ help me fix my tie?”

 

***

 

The wedding was beautiful and sweet, much like Scott and Kira. They said their vows in the back yard of the McCall home, under an arbor of sunflowers. Stiles stood next to Scott in a dark grey suit to offset Scott’s light grey, and Kira’s father walked her down the yard from the house, both of them smiling widely, and Ken doing more than a little crying. Austin had thrown the yellow tulip petals admirably, as he walked down the aisle with Scott’s mom. Next to Kira, Malia beamed, actually looking like she could deal with society for the day, and next to her, Lydia somehow pulled off red hair and a yellow dress. Stiles cried unabashedly at the vows, and felt Derek’s hand slip into his.

They tried not to make too big of a deal about their engagement at the reception, which was held in the Yukimuras’ yard, on the other side of town, but after the perfection that was Stiles’s best man speech, Scott stood up and announced it to everyone. It wasn’t long, however, until things died down, and Stiles found himself sitting at a table with Derek, Cora, and Lydia.

“Why is my boss here?!” he suddenly asked, panicked, “Der, why is your uncle here?”

“I think Danny brought him,” Cora said.

“What?” Stiles gaped.

“Huh,” Lydia said, “I was under the impression they were just hooking up.”

“ _What?_ ” Stiles prompted, looking aghast. Derek chuckled. “Did you know about this?” he demanded. “I thought Danny was still with Ethan.”

“Sweetie, no,” Lydia shook her head in amused disbelief.

“My life is a lie,” Stiles lamented, leaning into Derek’s side.

Derek rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, and he focused his attention in on Lydia. “Are you ever going to get with Parrish?” he demanded.

“Your fiancé and I are working much too hard on our new foundation,” Lydia said loftily, “Men are not my top priority at the moment.”

Stiles gaped at her. “Oh my god, you’re having regular sex with somebody! Who?!”

“Leave her alone, babe,” Derek told him. Lydia smirked at Stiles.

“I hate how well you two get along,” he frowned.

“That’s why we have to stick together, Stiles,” Cora pointed out.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Stiles agreed. They fist-bumped.

“I can’t believe I ever thought you two were dating,” Derek said, kissing Stiles’s temple.

Stiles laced their fingers together and Cora burst out laughing. “So not one of your best moments, Der,” she sighed.

Stiles looked around the Yukimuras’ backyard at all of his friends and family, from Parrish and his dad talking, to Melissa and Noshiko crying together over glasses of champagne, to Corey and Mason slow-dancing, and to Scott and Kira doing some wacky two year old dance with Austin and some of the other little kids. He wasn’t sure he had ever been happier.

 

***

 

“Papa?”

Stiles rolled into semi-consciousness at Austin’s small voice coming from the nursery. He rolled out of bed, feeling Derek start to shift as the bed moved. He went into Austin’s nursery, not bothering to turn the light on. “What is it, baby?” he asked, lifting Austin out of his crib, “Bad dream?”

Austin sniffed tiredly. “I miss you an’ Daddy,” he said, clinging to Stiles’s neck.

“Okay,” Stiles sighed, “Let’s go back to sleep in Papa and Daddy’s bed, okay?”

Austin nodded against his neck, and they almost made it to the door before he practically yelled, “Syd!”

“Can’t forget Syd, can we?” Stiles doubled back for the wombat, and then brought the two of them into his and Derek’s room, where Derek was sitting up, looking blearily concerned and entirely adorable. “Bad dream,” Stiles informed him, getting back to bed and setting Austin and Sydney between them.

“It’s okay,” Derek told Austin, sounding barely awake, as Austin cuddled into him, “No bad dreams when Daddy and Papa are here.”

Stiles’s computer sat on his desk against the wall, light blinking softly as the battery charged. It was already powered down for the night, but as Stiles drifted off again, the last image that had glowed on the screen flickered across the inside of his eyelids. It was the last photo that he had uploaded from the day: he and Derek with Austin between them, both with rings glittering on their fingers. Their jackets had been shedded and Derek’s tie was loose, where Stiles’s was shoved into his jacket pocket, sleeves rolled up. All three of them had the brightest smiles. Under the picture, the caption read _: So in love with my men. Why choose between #babyandthebody when you can have both? (If you haven’t guessed yet, #body proposed and I said yes!) #proposalannouncement #aussieroo #mccallwedding #mancrushsaturday? #ithinkiwon #cheesin._

Stiles smiled over Austin’s little head at Derek, and sleepily mouthed, “Love you.”

“Love you,” Derek mouthed in return, eyes already drifting shut with a content smile on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise proposals in fic are my weakness. Sorry not sorry :)
> 
> P.S. If anyone's interested in knowing the backstory with Danny and Peter, I'm considering doing a little offshoot of this with what exactly happened with the two of them.


End file.
